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FAMOUS  ACTRESSES  OF  THE  DAY 

IN  AMERICA 


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Famous  Actresses 
of  the   Day 


in   America 


By 
Lewis   C.   Strang 


'  ILLVSTRAT^i) 


Boston 
L.  C.   Page  and  Company 

(Incorporated) 

1899 


Copyright,  i8gg 
By  L.  C.  Page  and  Compan^i 

.  •  ,'  (\NCORPopAirE.b)C  •;  \     * 


Solom'al  Press : 

Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  C.  H.  Simonds  &  Co. 

Boston.  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


CONTENTS. 

LPTER 

PAGE 

Preface ix 

^       I. 

«  Maude  Adams     . 

11 

^11. 

♦  Julia  Marlowe  . 

27 

III. 

Sarah  Cowell  LeMoyne 

39 

^IV. 

*  Minnie  Maddern  Fiske 

50 

V. 

Ida  Conquest 

69 

VI. 

Blanche  Walsh 

.       72 

VII. 

Annie  Russell    . 

.       82 

VIII. 

Isabel  Irving 

.     98  ; 

IX. 

Maxine  Elliott 

.    104 

^x. 

/Ada  Rehan 

113 

XI. 

Virginia  Harned 

.    125 

^XII. 

^  Viola  Allen 

.    134 

XIII. 

Corona  Riccardo 

.    147 

XIV. 

Mary  Mannering 

.    156 

XV. 

Julia  Arthur 

.    161/ 

919TO9 


VI 


Contents, 


CHAPTER 

PAGE 

XVI. 

May  Irwin  . 

.   174 

XVII. 

Effie  Shannon   . 

.  187 

"^XVIII. 

V  Mrs.  Leslie  Carter  . 

.   193 

XIX. 

Mary  Shaw 

.    206 

XX. 

Olga  Nethersole 

.   217 

XXI. 

Lillian  Lawrence 

.   232 

XXII. 

Blanche  Bates   . 

.  243 

XXIII. 

Elsie  DeWolfe  . 

.    248 

XXIV. 

Rose  Coghlan     . 

.  258 

XXV. 

Margaret  Anglin 

.   270 

XXVI. 

Fay  Davis    .        .        .        . 

.   273 

XXVII. 

Odette  Tyler     . 

.  285 

XXVIII. 

Marie  Burroughs 

.   291 

XXIX. 

Kathryn  Kidder 

.   299 

"\  XXX. 

#Helena  Modjeska 

.     306 

XXXI. 

May  Robson 

.   323 

Index    

.     339 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGB 

Maude  Adams  as  Lady  Babbie  in  "  The  Little 

Minister" Frontispiece 

Maude    Adams    as    Juliet    in    "  Romeo    and 

Juliet" i8 

Julia  Marlowe 27 

Julia  Marlowe  as  Colinette  in  "Colinette"      34 
Mrs.  LeMoyne  as  the  Duchess  in  "Cather- 
ine"   39 

Mrs.  Fiske  as  Tess  in  "  Tess  of  the  D'Urber- 

VILLES"        .    \      .  .  .  .  .  .  -50 

Blanche  Walsh  as  Cleopatra  in  "  Cleopatra  "  72 
Annie  Russell  as  Catherine  in  "Catherine"      82 

Isabelle  Irving 98 

Maxine  Elliott  as  Alice  Adams  in  "  Nathan 

Hale"       ........     104 

Ada  Rehan  as  Beatrice  in  "  Much  Ado  about 

Nothing" 113 

Virginia  Harned  as  Julie  in  "An  Enemy  to 

THE  King" 125 

Viola  Allen  .....,,.  134 
9 


10  List  of  Illustrations. 

PAGE 

Corona  Riccardo  as  Berenice  in  "The  Sign 

OF  THE  Cross" 147 

Mary  Mannering  as  Rose  in  "Trelawneyof 

THE  Wells  " 156 

Julia  Arthur  as  Mercedes  in  "Mercedes"  .  161 
Julia  Arthur  as  Rosalind  in  "  As  You  Like 

It" 170 

Effie  Shannon 187 

Mrs.  Leslie  Carter 193 

Olga  Nethersole  as  Paula  in  "The  Second 

Mrs.  Tanqueray" 217 

Lillian  Lawrence 232 

Blanche  Bates 243 

Elsie  DeWolfe 248 

Marie  Burroughs 291 

May  Robson 323 


PREFACE. 

It  is  obviously  impossible,  in  writing  of 
persons  so  prominently  before  the  public  as 
the  women  considered  in  this  book,  to  secure 
any  great  amount  of  new  matter  regarding 
the  chief  incidents  of  their  lives,  and  the 
author  wishes  frankly  to  acknowledge  him- 
self a  compiler  and  editor  in  so  far  as  bio- 
graphical details  are  concerned.  The  facts 
were  gathered  from  various  contemporaneous 
publications,  and  in  some  instances,  from  the 
actresses  themselves.  Accuracy  has  been 
the  aim,  but  sometimes  it  has  appeared,  after 
a  careful  sifting  of  ambiguous  and  contradic- 
tory statements,  that  a  well-considered  guess 
was  the  only  apparent  solution  of  the  prob- 
lem.    In  so  far  as  criticism  is  concerned  the 


12   '        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

to  perfect  an  art  so '  subtle  that  one  hardly 
knows  whether  or  not  it  exists  at  all.  She  is 
naturally  a  comedienne  of  exquisitely  delicate 
and  refined  methods.  Her  powers  of  sugges- 
tion are  remarkable,  and  for  that  reason  her 
acting  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  analyse.  One 
unfamiliar  with  the  theatre,  and  with  the  art 
of  acting,  would  say  that  her  work  is  largely 
intuitive,  but  intuition  and  magnetism  will 
hardly  explain  Miss  Adamses  invariable  suc- 
cess in  the  many  different  characters  that 
she  has  assumed.  Her  Juliet  —  severely 
criticised  though  it  was  —  showed,  beyond 
the  shadow  of  a  doubt,  that  there  was  within 
that  little  frame  the  big,  sensitive  soul  of  an 
artist,  a  soul  capable  of  understanding  the 
great  emotions  and  passions,  and  of  express- 
ing them,  not  with  tragic  power,  but  with 
^^a  wealth  of  pathos  far  more  heartrending. 

Miss  Adams  is  said  to  be  connected  with 
the  family  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  the  fifth 
President    of   the   United    States,      Joshua 


Maude  Adams.  13 

Adams,  a  cousin  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  left 
the  family  homestead  in  Quincy,  Massachu- 
setts, and  moved  to  Canada.  His  oldest  son, 
also  Joshua  Adams,  immigrated  to  Utah  with 
a  party  of  Mormon  missionaries.  This  second 
Joshua  Adams  had  a  daughter,  Annie  Adams, 
and  she  was  Maude's  mother.  Maude  Adams 
was  born  in  November,  1872,  in  Salt  Lake 
City,  where  her  father,  whose  name  was  Kis- 
kadden,  was  in  business,  and  her  mother  was 
a  member  of  a  local  stock  company. 

Maude's  first  appearance  on  any  stage  was 
at  the  age  of  nine  months  in  Salt  Lake  City, 
in  a  play  called  "The  Lost  Child."  The 
business  of  the  play  required  that  a  baby 
should  be  brought  on  the  stage  in  a  platter. 
The  baby  that  had  expected  to  be  cradled 
in  the  dish  had  an  attack  of  stage  fright,  or 
something  equally  serious,  just  as  she  should 
have  been  behaving  her  prettiest  in  prepara- 
tion for  her  public  appearance.  She  yelled 
and  kicked  and  refused  to  be  pacified.  Little 


14  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

Miss  Maude,  who  was  spending  the  evening 
in  her  mother's  dressing-room,  was  seized 
upon  by  the  frantic  stage-manager  and  rushed 
before  the  footlights,  winking  and  blinking 
and  crowing  with  delight  at  the  applause  of 
the  audience.  Naturally  enough.  Miss  Adams 
does  not  remember  her  debut,  and  her  first 
recollection  of  stage  life  is  the  playing  of 
Little  Schneider  in  "Our  Fritz*'  with  J.  K. 
Emmett. 

"I  can  see,'*  she  once  said,  "a  little  child 
in  satin  knickerbockers  and  jacket,  with  a  big 
collar  and  tie,  holding  a  jumping-jack  in  her 
hand,  and  trying  to  step  out  a  dance  with 
Fritz.  That  was  myself.  But  it  seems  as 
though  it  must  have  been  some  other  being. 
It  gives  me  such  a  peculiar  sensation  in 
thinking  about  it.  In  that  play  I  was  put 
upon  a  large  wheel,  which  was  set  revolving. 
At  a  certain  point  I  had  to  scream,  but  I 
was  never  quite  sure  when  that  time  was. 
I  used  to  look  at  the  manager's  wife,  who 


Maude  Adams,  17 

the  country.  ^The  play  itself,  though  intro- 
ducing the  personages  and  main  incidents 
of  *'The  Little  Minister/'  might  fairly  be 
termed  an  original  work  rather  than  a  dram- 
atisation, so  skilfully  did  the  author  of  the 
novel  rearrange  his  story  for  the  stage. 
The  drama  was  simple,  straightforward 
and  affecting,  clean  and  wholesome,  with 
an  atmosphere  delightfully  artistic.  Babbie, 
"the  Egyptian,"  was  a  whimsical  character, 
made  indescribably  fascinating  by  Miss 
Adams's  glowing  personality  and  gentle, 
though  keenly  incisive  and  authoritative, 
_ax:ting)  She  was  dashing,  careless,  and  free 
as  the  tantalising  gypsy  girl ;  as  the  daughter 
of  Lord  Rintoul,  graceful  and  spirited,  seri- 
ous and  sympathetic.  In  pathetic  moments 
her  touch  was  sure  and  her  sincerity  con- 
vincing ;  in  moments  of  light-hearted  gaiety 
her  blithesomeness  was  contagious  and  her 
humour  a  well-spring  of  joy. 

Miss    Adams    has    just    had    the    unique 


1 8  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

experience  of  risking  a  seemingly  inevitable 
failure  and  winning  a  most  remarkable  suc- 
cess. It  must  be  acknowledged  that  it  was 
a  shocking  thought,  —  Lady  Babbie  as  Juliet, 
—  but  no  more  shocking  than  the  perform- 
ance itself  proved  to  many  theatre-goers,  not- 
ably William  Winter,  whose  denunciation  in 
the  New  York  Tribune  of  May  9,  1899,  the 
morning  after  Miss  Adams's  first  appear- 
ance as  Juliet,  may  become  a  classic.  Mr. 
Winter  wrote  : 

"  Miss  Adams,  a  delicate,  seemingly  fragile 
and  febrile  person,  in  the  potion  scene  of 
Juliet,  might  be  expected  to  supply  a  mild 
specimen  of  hysterics.  That  was  feasible, 
and  that  was  afforded.  The  individual  charm 
of  girl-like  sincerity  which  is  peculiar  to 
Miss  Adams  swayed  her  performance  of 
Juliet  with  a  winning  softness,  eliciting  sym- 
pathy and  inspiring  kindness.  Beyond  that 
there  was  nothing.  Many  schoolgirls,  with 
a  little  practice,  would  play  the  part  just  as 


MAUDE    ADAMS 
As  Juliet  in  "  Romeo  and  Juliet " 


Maude  Adams,  19 

well  —  and  would  be  just  as  little  like  it. 
In  her  especial  way  Miss  Adams  is  a  most 
agreeable  actress ;  she  ought  to  be  neither 
surprised  nor  hurt  to  ascertain  by  this  expe- 
rience that  nature  never  intended  her  to  act 
the  tragic  heroines  of  Shakespeare.  Much 
of  the  part  was  whispered  and  much  of  it 
was  bleated.  The  personality  cannot  readily 
be  described,  but  perhaps  it  may  not  be 
unfairly  indicated  as  that  of  an  intellectual 
young  lady  from  Boston,  competent  in  the 
mathematics  and  intent  on  teaching  peda- 
gogy. A  balcony  scene  without  passion,  a 
parting  scene  without  delirium  of  grief,  and 
a  potion  scene  without  power,  —  those  were 
the  products  of  Miss  Adams's  dramatic  art." 

To  offset  Mr.  Winter  I  quote  Edward  A. 
Dithmar,  of  the  New  York  TimeSy  a  man 
sane,  conservative,  and  experienced  : 

"  As  she  sat  on  the  rude  chair  in  the  friar's 
dimly  lighted  cell,  looking  up  into  the  old 
man's  face,  eagerly,  beseechingly,  and  then 


20  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

half  turning,  with  an  upward  gesture,  toward 
the  window,  spoke  so  earnestly  in  a  tone  far 
removed,  to  be  sure,  from  the  formal  utter- 
ance of  classical  tragedy,  but  with  unmis- 
takable feeling  and  sincerity,  those  thrilling 
phrases  upon  which  the  hopes  of  many  an 
aspiring  Juliet  of  the  stage  have  broken : 

" «  O  !  bid  me  leap,  rather  than  marry  Paris, 
From  off  the  battlements  of  yonder  tower ; 
Or  walk  in  thievish  way ;  or  bid  me  lurk 
Where  serpents  are  — ' 

the  triumph  of  the  newest  of  Juliets  was 
assured.  Far  removed  from  the  formal 
utterance  of  classical  tragedy,  indeed,  but 
there  was  more  of  natural  eloquence  and 
seeming  spontaneity  of  expression  in  Miss 
Adams's  delivery  of  those  words  than  has 
been  associated  with  the  manner  of  classical 
>|  drama  on  our  stage  since  Sarah  Bernhardt 
acted  Ph^dre.  It  can  safely  be  proclaimed 
that  Maude  Adams  is  not  a  tragic  actress. 
But  Henry  Irving  is  not  a  tragedian,  and  so 


Maude  Adams.  21 

far   as   the   English-speaking   stage   is  con-  ^ 
cerned,  the  manner  of  tragedy  all  but  died    f^Jidii 
with  Edwin  Booth.  .  .  . 

**  Juliet  seemed  actually  to  live  again, 
loving  suddenly  and  for  aye,  sorrowing  and 
dying.  Last  winter  the  critics  of  music 
frequently  and  justly  found  fault  with  the 
singing  of  Ernest  Van  Dyck  ;  but  they  all 
declared  that  his  splendid  histrionism  tri- 
umphed in  *  Lohengrin  '  and  *  Tannhaiiser,* 
in  spite  of  his  deficiencies  of  voice  and  vocal 
method.  Similarly  we  may  say  of  Maude 
Adams  (though  I  should  hesitate  to  use 
quite  such  a  showy  word  as  'splendid'  to 
distinguish  her  dramatic  talent)  that  her 
acting  suffices  in  '  Romeo  and  Juliet,'  though 
she  does  not  sing  the  music  as  it  might  be 
sung.  She  has  both  tact  and  a  rare  quality 
of  personal  charm  to  bear  her  out.  She  has 
good  sense,  artistic  sympathy,  and  apprecia- 
tion. And  as  occasion  requires  its  use,  she 
produces  an  appropriate  symbol.*' 


22  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

There  is  no  mystery  in  the  opposition  of 
these  critics.  Mr.  Winter,  grounded  in 
Shakespearian  tradition  and  not  so  impres- 
sionable, perhaps,  as  a  younger  man,  lacking 
in  the  sympathy  that  is  touched  by  sincerity 
and  genuine  humanity,  saw  only  the  faults 
—  the  glaring  faults,  if  you  will  —  of  Miss 
Adams's  technique.  Mr.  Dithmar,  on  the 
other  hand,  thrust  aside  exasperating  defi- 
ciencies and  crudities  and  startling  violations 
of  classic  rule  and  order;  he  reached  the 
gist  of  the  whole  matter,  —  the  inspired  real- 
ness  of  this  Juliet. 

There  is  only  one  Juliet  that  should  be 
sought  for  by  all  actresses  who  try  to  win  fame 
in  this  most  difficult  of  roles.  The  traditional 
Juliet  is  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  the  result 
of  the  united  intelligence  of  the  most  gifted 
players ;  and  consequently  the  traditional 
Juliet  is  the  only  Juliet  that  can  be  con- 
sidered as  a  permanent  conception.  Never- 
theless, there  is  the  stubborn  fact  that  Miss 


Maude  Adams.  23 

Adams  gave  a  wonderfully  touching  per- 
formance of  the  character.  Her  convincing 
sincerity,  her  intelligent  reading  of  the  lines, 
—  not  metrical  reading,  mind  you,  for  that 
she  ignored  entirely,  —  and,  more  than  all, 
the  appealing  humanity  of  her  impersonation, 
were  forceful  in  the  extreme  ;  and  a  fondness 
for  tradition  should  not  keep  one  from  recog- 
nising these  great  merits  in  Miss  Adams's 
work.  Tradition  is  a  standard  of  judgment, 
and  in  most  cases  a  proper  standard  of  judg- 
ment ;  but  once  in  awhile  tradition  has  to  be 
thrown  out  of  the  window,  and  it  seems 
eminently  proper  so  to  treat  it  in  Miss 
Adams's  case. 

Maude  Adams's  Juliet  was  the  creation  of 
an  actress  whose  personality  and  magnetism 
enabled  her  to  override  seemingly  insur- 
mountable obstacles  in  the  way  of  physique 
and  temperament ;  whose  sheer  mental  force 
made  not  only  possible,  but  pathetically  real, 
a  Juliet  that  defied  tradition  ;  whose  inherent 


24  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

dramatic  power  made  acceptable  a  reading 
of  the  lines  that  ignored  even  the  pre- 
tence of  metre,  and  also  logically  established 
a  conception  that  was  never  for  a  moment 
tragic,  a  conception  that  showed  only  a  girl, 
frightened  almost  at  her  great  love,  and  later 
suffering  she  scarcely  knew  why. 

One  might  multiply  words  in  recounting 
the  faults  in  the  performance  as  judged  by 
the  standard  readings  of  the  part.  She  did 
not  look  Juliet  in  the  first  place ;  she  spoke 
the  lines  without  the  least  striving  after 
elocutionary  effect,  spoke  them  as  if  they 
were  the  simplest  of  every-day  prose ;  she 
never  once  thrilled  one  with  the  full  realisa- 
tion of  a  supreme,  mighty  passion.  She  did 
do  one  thing,  however,  and  for  that  one 
thing  I  am  willing  to  sacrifice  all  ideals  of 
personal  appearance,  all  delight  in  the  music 
of  the  verse,  willing  to  sacrifice  even  tragic 
power  itself.  She  made  Juliet  ^^^^^^  !  More- 
over, if  she  did  not  speak  poetry,  she  cer- 


Maude  Adams,  25 

tainly  found  in  the  poetry  new  and  beautiful 
meanings  ;  and  though  she  did  not  act  tragedy, 
she  accomplished  far  more  when  she  touched 
the  heart  with  a  sorrow  most  genuine. 

Miss  Adams  was  at  her  best  in  the  first 
scene  with  Romeo,  in  the  balcony  scene,  and 
in  the  scene  in  Friar  Laurence's  cell,  after 
she  had  received  her  father's  command  to 
marry  Paris.  The  first  love  scene  with 
Romeo  was  of  beauty  simply  indescribable. 
Remember,  this  was  a  Juliet  who  was  really 
a  girl,  whose  youth  and  innocence  added 
immeasurably  to  the  effect  of  her  meeting 
with  Romeo.  One  saw  the  dawning  of  love, 
realised  the  perplexity  and  bewilderment  that 
accompanied  love's  conception  and  under- 
stood the  wealth  of  knowledge  that  came 
with  the  kiss  that  so  often  has  seemed  mere 
wantonness  on  the  part  of  Romeo. 

The  power  of  the  balcony  scene  came 
largely  from  the  unusual  and  vivid  interpre- 
tation of  the  lines.     They  were  read  with  a 


26  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

perfect  comprehension,  and  with  an  intensity 
and  earnestness  that  brooked  no  limitations 
of  metre.  The  scene  in  Friar  Laurence's 
cell  was  played  without  a  suggestion  of  the 
horror  that  is  sometimes  given  it  to  the 
detriment  of  the  potion  scene.  The  childish- 
ness displayed  in  the  scene  with  the  nurse 
was  pronounced,  and  the  potion  scene  was  a 
penetrating  picture  of  a  horror-stricken  girl, 
driven  to  the  verge  of  despair,  suffering 
pitifully  and  alone.  The  death  scene,  un- 
necessarily mutilated  in  the  version  used  by 
Miss  Adams,  was  quiet  in  the  extreme  and 
of  abiding  pathos. 


JULIA   MARLOWE 


CHAPTER   II. 

JULIA    MARLOWE. 

Julia  Marlowe,  whose  real  name  is  Sarah 
Frances  Frost,  was  born,  late  in  the  sixties, 
in    Caldbeck,    a   north   of   England    village. 
She  was  brought  to  the   United    States  by 
her  parents  when  she  was  about  five  years 
old.     The  family  first  settled  in  Kansas,  but 
later  moved   to  Cincinnati.     Fanny  Brough 
was  the  name  by  which  Miss  Marlowe  was 
known,  when,  at  the  age  of  twelve  years,  her 
stage  experiences    began   in   the  chorus   of    .^u\ 
Colonel  Miles's  Juvenile  Pinafore  Company.   ,^ 
She  was  too  bright,  long  to  remain  with  the      ' 
crowd,  however,  and  soon  she  was  permitted 
to  take  such  parts  as  Hebe  and  Little  But- 
tercup. 

27 


28  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

In  charge  of  the  troupe  was  Ada  Dow, 
sister-in-law  of  Manager  Miles,  and  years  ago 
a  well-known  actress.  She  became  con- 
vinced that  the  girl  had  talent,  and  virtually 
adopted  her  with  the  intention  of  training 
her  for  higher  work  on  the  stage.  When 
she  was  fifteen  years  old,  Miss  Marlowe,  still 
known  as  Fanny  Brough,  toured  New  York 
State  with  Robert  McWade  in  "Rip  Van 
Winkle,"  playing  at  first  the  boy  Hendrix, 
and  later  the  small  part  of  Rip*s  sister.  The 
McWade  company  met  with  hard  luck,  and 
finally  came  to  grief  at  Lyons,  N.  Y.  An 
actor,  who  was  with  McWade,  has  reported 
that  Fanny  Brough  was  not  altogether  a 
favourite  with  her  companions.  She  was 
pert  and  saucy,  and  not  much  of  an  actress 
either,  a  curious  comment  when  one  con- 
siders the  Julia  Marlowe  of  to-day. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  Miss  Marlowe  played 
her  first  Shakespearian  character,  Romeo's 
page,  Balthazar.     The  Juliet  of  this  perform- 


Julia  Marlowe,  29 

ance  was  Josephine  Riley,  of  whom  there 
may  be  memories  in  the  West.  Three  years 
of  hard  study  at  Ada  Dow's  quiet  home  in 
Bayonne  followed  for  the  young  actress,  and 
'Tt  was  the  genuine  old-fashioned  stage  train- 
jjgig  that  the  aspirant  for  dramatic  honours 
underwent,  an  experience  hard  on  mind  and  , 
body,  but  thorough  if  one  Hved  through  it. 
There  were  days  and  days  of  practice  in  gym- 
nastics, in  voice  culture,  in  elocution,  and  in 
stage  deportment.  Plays  were  read  and 
re-read,  time  and  time  again.  They  were 
worked  over  with  the  aid  of  commentaries, 
histories,  and  critical  notes,  and  even  the 
life  story  of  the  author  was  investigated  for  '^^ 
further  enlightenment  on  knotty  points. 
Not  until  the  play  as  a  whole  had  been  thor- 
oughly mastered  was  the  memorising  of  a 
line  permittedT]  As  a  result  of  all  this  drudg- 
ery, at  the  end  of  the  three  years  the  student 
had  a  fair  repertory  of  standard  dramas,  and 
was  ready  for  her  d^but   as  a   star,   which 


30  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

event  took  place  on  April  25,  1887,  at  New 
London,  Conn.  It  was  at  this  time  that  she 
was  first  called  Julia  Marlowe. 

"  I  remember  quite  well  my  first  appear- 
ance in  New  London.  I  played  Parthenia 
in  *  Ingomar/  and  the  morning  papers  spoke 
of  me  as  a  genius,  and  said  that  I  would 
surely  wear  a  crown  of  diamonds  before 
my  career  was  at  an  end.  How  I  did  enjoy 
that,"  was  the  naiVe  account  of  her  d^but 
that  Miss  Marlowe  gave  several  years  after. 

A  provincial  tour  of  the  small  cities  and 
towns  of  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts 
followed,  the  youthful  star  playing  Juliet, 
Parthenia,  Pauline  in  **  The  Lady  of  Lyons," 
and  Julia  in  "The  Hunchback.*'  In  October 
she  boldly  tried  New  York,  playing  Shake- 
^^  speare  at  the  Bijou  Opera  House,  a  theatre 
chiefly  given  over  to  light  opera.  Her  com- 
pany was  poor,  and  her  scenery  and  costumes 
were  inadequate ;  but  most  disastrous  of  all 
was  the  fact  that  no  New  Yorker  had  ever 


Julia  Marlowe.  31 

heard  of  her.  This  alone  would  have  settled 
hfjr  fate  had  everything  else  been  in  her 
favour.  Some  of  the  critics  recognised  talent 
in  her  acting;  Robert  G.  IngersoU  wrote  a 
rapturous  letter  regarding  her ;  Lester  Wal- 
lack  testified  to  the  promise  her  work  gave ; 
but  the  public  refused  to  have  anything  to 
do  with  her.  It  was  a  cruel  experience, 
and  one  which  Miss  Marlowe  did  not  soon 
forget.  For  years  —  even  after  her  repu- 
tation had  climbed  into  the  metropolis  — 
she  shunned  New  York  as  she  would  a 
pestilence. 

Back  to  the  provinces  went  the  young 
actress  to  pass  through  a  weary  year  of  one 
night  stands  before  she  tried  another  large 
city.  This  time  it  was  Boston.  The  date  was 
December  3,  1888 ;  the  place  was  the  HoUis 
Street  Theatre,  and  the  play  was  "Ingo- 
mar.''  Miss  Marlowe's  success  was  complete, 
so  complete,  in  fact,  that  she  was  engaged 
for   a  return  date  at  the  Park  Theatre  the 


32  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

following  spring.  The  repertory  of  the  De- 
cember week  included,  besides  "  Ingomar," 
^.^^\^  "The  Hunchback,"  "The  Lady  of  Lyons," 
"  Twelfth  Night,"  and  "  Romeo  and  Juliet." 
For  the  following  spring  engagement  she 
added  "  As  You  Like  It  "  to  the  list.  The 
following  year  she  first  played  "Pygmalion 
and  Galatea." 

In  1 89 1  Miss  Marlowe  tried  Beatrice  in 
"Much  Ado  about  Nothing."  She  was 
hardly  equal  to  this  brilHant  character  at 
first,  but  her  authority  increased  with  every 
performance  until  her  conception  at  last  be- 
came adequate.  Her  impersonation  of  the 
character,  while  vivacious  and  altogether 
charming,  never  seemed  to  reach  the  soul 
of  this  most  sparkling  and  intellectual  of 
Shakespearian  women.  Her  Imogene  in 
"  Cymbeline,"  acted  about  the  same  time,  was 
a  more  successful  characterisation,  abounding 
in  sentiment  and  beautifully  pathetic,  though 
by  no  means  tragically  great.     Constance  in 


Julia  Marlowe,  33 

"  The  Love  Chase "  came  a  year  later,  fol- 
lowed with  Letitia  Hardy  in  "The  Belle's 
Stratagem '*  and  two  boys'  parts,  Charles 
Hart  in  "  Rogues  and  Vagabonds "  and 
"Chatterton."  In  1894,  Miss  Marlowe  at- 
tempted Lady  Teazle  in  "School  for  Scan- 
dal" and  "Colombe's  Birthday,"  neither  of 
which  was  a  lasting  success.  In  May  of  that 
year  she  was  married  to  Robert  Tabor. 

The  season  of  1895-06  saw  Miss  Marlowe 
as  Kate  Hardcastle  in  "  She  Stoops  to  Con- 
^guer,"  and  later  in  the  elaborate  and  unfor- 
tunate revival  of  "  King  Henry  IV.,"  in  which 
the  actress  essayed  the  role  of  Prince  Hal,  a 
thoroughly  virile  character,  entirely  beyond 
the  range  of  a  woman.  She  is  also  remem- 
bered for  her  impersonation  of  Lydia  Lan- 
guish in  the  star  cast  of  "  The  Rivals," 
which  was  headed  by  Joseph  Jefferson. 
Miss  Marlowe's  latest  productions  have 
shown  a  constantly  increasing  tendency  to 
avoid  the  classic.     They  are  "For  Bonnie 


34  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

Prince  Charlie,"  "Romola/'  "The  Countess 
Valeska/'  and  "  Colinette." 

Physically,  Julia  Marlowe  is  a  brunette  of 
the  brown-haired,  dark-eyed  type.  Just  what 
colour  her  eyes  are  I  really  do  not  know, — for 
a  guess,  dark  brown,  shading  into  black.  They 
are  large,  of  abiding  charm,  and  wondrously 
expressive.  She  is  rather  above  medium 
stature,  though  in  certain  roles  she  seems 
strangely  undersized.  The  loveliness  of  her 
face  is  of  expression  rather  than  of  mere 
feature,  and  it  is  emphatically  a  woman's 
face.  On  the  stage  she  has  unusual  magnet- 
ism and  especially  winning  femininity.  This 
latter  quality  pervades  all  her  characters, 
making  them  so  delicately  alluring  and  so 
peculiarly  lovable  that  the  judgment,  even  of 
an  experienced  observer,  is  very  often  led 
astray  into  unmerited  enthusiasm.  Always 
satisfying  to  a  degree,  and  particularly  de- 
lightful as  a  comedienne,  she  has  never 
shown  any  unfathomable  depth  of  tempera- 


JULIA    MARLOWE 

As  Colinette  in  "  Colinette  " 


r 


Julia  Marlowe,  35 

ment,  nor  has  she  yet  achieved  the  really 
tragic. 

Her  most  popular  Shakespearian  character 
is  probably  Rosalind,  an  impersonation  that 
is  full  of  life  and  exuberance  of  spirits  and 
of  by-play  entrancingly  suggestive  of  mas- 
querading femininity.  The  lines  she  speaks 
with  naturalness,  and  the  music  of  her  voice 
adds  immeasurably  to  the  beauty  of  the 
poetry.  If  there  be  any  fault  in  her  work, 
it  is  the  extremely  subtle  one  of  failing  to 
make  Rosalind  womanly  as  well  as  feminine.  I 

Miss  Marlowe*s  Viola  in  "  Twelfth  Night " 
is  a  very  fine  study,  indeed,  one  of  the  most 
nearly  perfect  impersonations  in  her  Shake- 
spearian repertory.  Viola  is  an  essentially 
pathetic  character  over  which  continually 
hangs  the  sorrow  of  a  hopeless  love.  Aside 
from  a  too  evident  burlesque  of  the  duel 
scene  with  Sir  Andrew  Aguecheek,  Miss 
Marlowe's  conception  is  continuously  tender  > 
and    maidenly,    breathing    the    essence    of 


36  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

poetry  and  pregnant  with  a  refined  humour 
that  is  akin  to  tears. 

Her  Juliet  is  wonderfully  beautiful,  —  won- 
derfully pathetic  even,  especially  in  the 
potion  scene,  —  but  it  is  a  characterisation 
that  has  always  been  found  wanting  in  one 
essential. 

"  Her  nature  is  sympathetic  with  poetic 
sentiment  and  with  humour  in  its  purity," 
wrote  Elwyn  A.  Barron.  "That  which  is 
sweetly  ideal,  gentle,  touching,  that  which 
is  light  in  mirth  and  prettily  fanciful,  has 
never,  we  believe,  had  a  more  delightful 
exponent  than  Miss  Marlowe.  She  is  ex- 
quisite, too,  in  pathos  and  effective  in 
stronger  emotions,  but  in  the  dignity  of 
soul-mastering  passion  she  is  deficient." 

When  a  dramatic  critic  can  find  no  other 
fault  with  an  actress's  Juhet,  he  invariably 
declares  that  she  lacks  passion ;  and  it  is 
true  that  Miss  Marlowe  has  failed  to  convey 
the   idea   of   an   overpowering   love  that   is 


Julia  Marlowe.  37 

the  great  element  in  Juliet's  nature.  Juliet's 
passion  is  far  away  from  animal  desire  of 
the  Carmen  type.  It  is  the  poet's  perfect 
love,  the  unattainable  and  undefinable  ideal 
of  devotion  and  purity  held  by  human  kind. 
Can  such  an  idealistic  conception  be  ex- 
pressed by  means  of  the  art  of  acting } 
Undoubtedly  it  has  been  so  expressed,  not 
often,  perhaps,  but  once  is  sufficient  to  prove 
that  it  is  not  impossible.  Miss  Marlowe  her- 
self once  said  :  "  A  full  realisation  of  my 
ideal  is  still  beyond  my  strength.  When 
once  it  is  wholly  and  permanently  within 
my  grasp,  I  shall  then  indeed  deserve  to 
be  called  a  great  artist." 

Miss  Marlowe  has  not  the  rich  old  comedy 
style,  as  was  plainly  shown  in  her  playing  of 
Kate  Hardcastle.  It  was  in  many  respects 
a  charming  stage  presence,  but  it  was  not 
an  honest  exhibition  of  acting.  It  was  the 
actress's  personality  only  that  was  ever  in 
evidence.     Miss    Marlowe   played   with   the 


38  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

brilliancy  of  a  virtuoso,  and  her  Kate  was 
very  provoking  and  very  captivating.  But 
it  was  also  artificial  and  affected.  There 
was  none  of  that  innocent  artlessness  and 
little  of  that  girlish  recklessness  to  which 
is  due  Kate's  imposition  on  Marlow.  Her 
Kate  was  much  too  old,  much  too  sober, 
and  much  too  wise. 

Miss  Marlowe  demonstrated  her  expert- 
ness  in  light  comedy  in  "Colinette,'*  a  "make- 
believe  '*  sort  of  a  play  —  almost  a  burlesque 
on  life  —  which  she  carried  to  success  by 
her  own  sweetly  attractive  individuality.  Her 
acting,  however,  added  nothing  to  a  reputa- 
tion won  by  the  hardest  kind  of  work  in  the 
face  of  many  difficulties,  the  reputation  of 
being  the  most  authoritative  Shakespearian 
actress  that  we  have. 


MRS.    LEMOYNE 
As  the  Duchess  in  '*  Catherine  " 


CHAPTER    III. 

SARAH    COWELL    LEMOYNE. 

Sarah  Cowell  LeMoyne  is  identified  in 
the  public  mind  with  the  role  of  the  Dowager 
Duchess  de  Coutras  in  Henri  Lavedan's 
comedy,  "Catherine/'  and  those  that  saw 
the  play  in  this  country  will  not  soon  for- 
get the  womanly  sympathy  and  the  matronly  )l^ 
tenderness  with  which  she  invested  that  very 
interesting  character.  If  ever  an  actress 
lived  a  part,  Mrs.  LeMoyne  lived  the 
Duchess,  and  the  fineness  of  her  art,  the 
sincerity  of  her  sentiment,  and  the  com- 
pleteness of  her  conception  left  absolutely 
no  loop-hole  through  which  could  enter  false 
touches  and  broken  illusions. 

"  Mrs.  Sarah  Cowell  LeMoyne's  assump- 
39 


40  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

tion  of  the  Dowager  Duchess  de  Coutras/* 
wrote  Henry  Austin  Clapp,  "  it  is  not  absurd 
to  say,  in  its  appeal  to  the  artistic  sense,  has 
in  recent  years  seldom  been  surpassed  upon 
our  stage.  Its  suavity,  directness,  elegance, 
and  distinction  of  style  are  remarkable  in- 
deed. Practising,  like  Miss  Annie  Russell, 
a  method  never  violent,  seldom  even  vehe- 
ment, and,  like  her,  almost  never  lifting  her 
^oice  above  an  ordinary  conversational  tone, 
Mrs.  LeMoyne,  by  the  power  of  her  pure 
and  unaffected  enunciation,  of  her  vitally 
sympathetic  tones,  and  of  her  frank  and 
beautiful  manners,  at  once  convinces  every 
auditor  of  the  refinement,  the  genuineness, 
the  breadth,  and  the  loveliness  of  the 
Duchess's  character.  Whenever  she  moves 
or  speaks,  she  charms  and  engages.  All 
her  dialogues  are  quiet,  yet  all  are  keenly 
interesting,  and  several  of  them  are  deeply 
stirring.  Seldom  is  anything  better  wit- 
nessed here   than   her   scenes   in   the   first 


Sarah  Cowell  LeMoyne.  41 

act  with  the  duke,  her  son,  where  her 
shrewdness,  her  sympathy,  and  her  experi- 
ence of  life  are  all  in  evidence  as  she 
listens  to  his  confession  of  love  for  Cather- 
ine, and  the  intent  to  make  Catherine  his 
wife ;  the  mother's  combined  playfulness  and 
gravity,  the  tactfulness  of  her  words  and 
ways,  her  high-bred  grace  and  magnanimity, 
are  all  equally  obvious  and  fine,  and  under 
them  all  an  anxious  maternal  tenderness  and 
yearning  are  shown  with  pathetic  potency. 
Here  is  a  piece  of  comedy  acting  done  with 
that  ideal  touch,  at  once  light  and  firm,  easy 
and  strong,  which  is  characteristic  of  the 
best  histrionic  school.  Mrs.  LeMoyne's  tri- 
umph with  her  audience  was  complete.  At 
the  close  of  every  one  of  her  scenes  there 
was  a  stir  of  responsive  delight  and  quick- 
ened sympathy,  which  ran  through  the  mass 
of  spectators  as  waves  move  over  a  field  of 
wheat  under  the  impact  of  a  breeze." 

Yet  Mrs.  LeMoyne*s  stage  experience  hag 


42  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

embraced  perhaps  six  different  characters, 
and  has  extended  over  only  three  seasons, 
one  in  the  early  eighties,  whea  A.  M. 
Palmer's  Union  Square  Theatre  Company 
was  at  the  height  of  its  artistic  excellence, 
and  the  others  within  the  last  two  years. 
With  the  Union  Square  Company  Mrs. 
LeMoyne,  who  was  then  simply  Sarah  Cow- 
ell,  appeared  as  the  mother  in  "  A  Celebrated 
Case,"  as  a  maid  in  "The  Banker's  Daugh- 
ter," as  the  opera  singer  in  <*=  French  Flats," 
and  as  an  old  woman  in  "The  DanichefFs." 
This  part  was  the  first  one  in  which  she 
made  any  recognisable  impression,  and  it 
was  also  the  last  one  that  she  played  for 
many  years.  She  appeared  in  it  first  in 
Chicago,  and  when  the  company  returned  to 
New  York  Manager  Palmer  insisted  that 
she  should  act  it  there.  Now,  New  York 
was  the  actress's  home,  and  for  more  than 
three  hundred  nights  she  had  presented 
there   the  maid   in   "The  Banker's   Daugh-' 


Sarah  Cowell  LeMoyne,  43 

ten"  And  now  to  come  back  as  an  old 
woman  !  Surely  that  was  too  much.  She 
would  be  the  countess  or  anything  else  in 
the  play  except  the  old  woman.  Mr.  V^Xxcl^xq/)^ 
was  persistent,  however,  and  Miss  CowelFs 
connection  with  the  stage  ended  right  there, 
not  to  be  renewed  until  the  spring  of  1898, 
when  she  accepted  the  r61e  of  Mrs.  Lorimer 
in  "  The  Moth  and  the  Flame,*'  a  character 
in  which  she  displayed  the  wonderful  finesse 
that  was  so  finely  evident  in  **  Catherine." 

"When  I  was  a  girl  in  my  teens,''  said 
Mrs.  LeMoyne,  in  speaking  of  her  first  stage 
experience,  "  I  was  acquainted  with  Madame 
Blavatsky.  Before  she  left  New  York  I  got 
to  know  her  very  well.  She  had  once  told 
me  that  I  reminded  her  in  appearance  of 
Rachel,  and  although  I  knew  nothing  in  the 
world  about  Rachel,  I  set  out  to  read  her 
history  and  find  out  all  I  could  about  her. 
When  I  learned  that  she  was  an  actress,  I 
was  more  than  ever  determined  to  continue 


44  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

reciting,  as  I  had  been  doing  for  the  benefit 
of  my  friends,  and  as  a  result  of  that  there 
came  the  idea  of  my  becoming  an  actress. 
J  knew  nobody  connected  with  the  theatre ; 
(  my  family  had  no  associations  of  that  kind, 
Ynd  there  seemed  to  be  very  little  prospect 
that  I   would  ever   accomplish  my  purpose. 
But  I  did  ultimately  get  an  introduction  to 
Mr.    Palmer,  who  was   then   at   the   Union 
Square   Theatre.     I   read  for  him  and  Mr. 
Cazuran    a  scene  from   'Henry  VIII.*     He 
told  me  he  had  nothing  for  me  just  at  that 
time.     Finally,  he  asked  me  if  I  thought  I 
could  act  any  of  the  parts  in  *  A  Celebrated 
Case,'    which    was    then    the    play   at    the 
theatre.     I  told  him  I  thought   I  could  act 
Agnes  Booth's.     She  was  playing  the  part 
of  the  wife  in  the  prologue.     When  I  men- 
tioned that  r61e,  Mr.  Palmer  looked  astonished. 
But  he  gave  it  to   me   to  study,  and   after 
awhile  I  had  an  opportunity  to  play  it  several 
times  on  the  road.     That  was  my  first  part, 


Sarah  Cowell  LeMoyne.  45 

and  where  I  played  it  I  cannot  remember ; 
I  was  in  too  much  of  a  whirl  to  pay  attention 
to  the  names  of  towns.  Afterward  I  joined 
the  company  and  played  the  part  of  a  maid. 
I  was  a  realist  in  those  days,  and  I  remember 
that  I  insisted  on  wearing  slippers  without 
heels,  because  I  thought  those  the  appropri- 
ate shoes  for  a  maid  to  wear.  But  I  was 
applauded  for  a  scene  with  John  Strebelow, 
in  which  I  showed  sympathy  for  him  in  his 
troubles.  In  *  The  Danicheffs*  I  was  more 
successful  as  the  old  woman  than  in  any 
other  role  I  played  during  my  first  engage- 
ment. But  it  was  that  which  led  me  to  bring 
my  theatrical  life  to  an  end  for  so  many 
years." 

When  Mrs.  LeMoyne  left  Mr.  Palmer,  she 
gave  up  acting  for  good  and  began  to  teach 
elocution  and  to  give  readings.  As  a  reader, 
she  visited  England  in  1884,  and  met  with 
much  success  in  drawing-room  entertainments 
in  private  residences.     While  there,  she  be- 


46  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

came  acquainted,  among  other  literary  men, 
with  the  poet,  Robert  Browning,  and  later 
she  was  an  important  factor  in  the  popular- 
ising of  his  works  in  this  country.  Her  prin- 
cipal readings  from  Browning  were  "  Count 
Gismond,"  "Time's  Revenge,"  "Meeting  at 
Night,"  "Herve  Riel,"  and  "Love  among 
the  Ruins."  She  was  also  very  successful 
with  the  anonymous  poem,  so  full  of  dramatic 
action  and  pathos,  "The  Engineer's  Story," 
and  also  with  Mary  Mapes  Dodge's  dialect 
study,  "Miss  Maloney,  on  the  Chinese 
Question."  Mrs.  LeMoyne  had  several 
offers  to  return  to  the  stage  while  she  was 
reading  and  teaching.  Once  she  recited 
"Kentucky  Belle"  and  "The  Old  Boat" 
before  Sir  Henry  Irving,  and  in  the  little 
talk  that  followed  he  said  that  he  would  give 
her  an  engagement  in  his  company  the  next 
day,  if  she  cared  to  return  to  the  stage. 
Lawrence  Barrett  also  heard  her  read,  and 
immediately  offered  her  a  part  in  "  The  Blot 


Sarah  Cowell  LeMoyne,  47 

on   the   'Scutcheon/'       These    offers   were 
quickly  declined,  however. 

« I  think  that  most  of  my  friends  among 
the  actors  were  uncertain  of  my  abilities  to 
act,"  said  Mrs.  LeMoyne.  "I  remember 
they  were  always  amiable  when  I  mentioned 
my  desire  to  become  an  actress  some  day. 
But  it  was  evident  that  they  had  very  little 
confidence  in  the  outcome.  I  was  reminded 
of  that  when  I  saw  in  a  box  at  the  theatre, 
where  I  was  appearing  in  'The  Moth  and 
the  Flame,'  an  actress  who  had  once  come 
to  me  for  some  lessons  in  diction.  She  was 
about  to  play  a  new  r61e,  and  I  was  discuss- 
ing it  with  her.  Something  I  said  must 
have  touched  her  sensitive  artistic  nature, 
for  she  said  to  me,  suddenly,  *But,  Mrs. 
LeMoyne,  I  did  not  come  to  you  for  lessons 
in  acting.'  *  Oh,  I  understand,'  I  answered, 
with  humility  that  was  possibly  exaggerated. 
*  I  couldn't  possibly  act  myself.'  I  was 
rather  pleased  when  I  saw  her  in   the  au- 


48  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

dience,  for  the  play  went  particularly  well 
that  night. 

"  Those  days  of  my  life  were  of  greater 
profit  than  they  would  have  been  had  I  re- 
mained an  actress,"  she  continued.  **  I  saw 
all  the  great  actors,  and  I  read  all  that  was 
good  in  literature.  I  believe  now  that  noth- 
ing is  better  for  the  actor's  art  than  a  period 
of  retirement,  which  gives  him  the  opportun- 
ity to  study  the  great  ones  of  his  profession 
and  see  just  how  he  stands  in  reference  to 
the  other  actors.  It  is  as  fatal  to  an  actor 
as  it  is  to  anybody  else  to  drop  out  of  the 
foremost  rank.  He  must  always  be  ahead 
if  he  would  keep  the  admiration  and  respect 
of  the  public,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  only 
those  that  know  what  is  going  on  about 
them  are  able  to  be  up  with  the  foremost.*' 

Mrs.  LeMoyne's  genius  for  the  deline- 
ation of  the  middle-aged  heroine  is  not 
exactly  paralleled  on  the  English-speaking 
stage.       She    understands    thoroughly    the 


Sarah  Cowell  LeMoyne.  49 

woman  whose  life  has  been  chastened  by- 
suffering,  and  whose  sympathy  for  others 
has  been  sharpened  by  experiences  that  have 
taught  her  to  judge  the  world  honestly,  intel- 
ligently, and  lovingly.  Her  emotional  power 
is  exceptional,  and  in  pathetic  moments  she 
displays  perfect  sincerity. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

MINNIE    MADDERN    FISKE. 
\\ 

Minnie  Maddern  Fiske  s  life  story  is 
unusual  enough  to  be  the  invention  of  some 
fantastic  writer  of  fiction.  I  was  about  to 
call  it  romantic,  but  that  is  about  the  last 
word  to  apply  to  those  early  experiences 
whose  chief  accompaniments  seem  to  the 
average  person  to  have  been  hardship  and 
drudgery.  Doubtless  there  were  compensa- 
tions in  an  existence  that  began  in  the  play- 
house and  continued  there  almost  constantly 
for  twenty-four  years  ;  in  a  babyhood  passed 
with  a  "fly-by-night''  theatrical  troupe  that 
toured  the  South  and  West  in  the  days  when 
a  dining-room  in  some  country  roadhouse 
made  a  prime  theatre ;  in  a  childhood  spent 
50 


MRS.    FISKE 
As  Tess  in  "  Tess  of  the  D'lJrbervilles  " 


Minnie  Maddern  Fiske.  5 1 

in  acting  one  after  another  every  juvenile 
part  known  to  the  drama  of  the  early  seven- 
enties ;  in  a  girlhood  which  was  a  struggle 
to  win  success  in  uncongenial  and  inconse- 
quential roles.  Such  an  experience  is,  indeed, 
unusual,  but  it  is  also  to  the  unfortunate 
victim  depressingly  prosaic.  Nevertheless,  it 
brought  forth  an  individuality  that  has  made 
itself  immensely  felt  in  the  American  theatre ;  '/ 
produced  a  woman  of  independent  purpose, 
who  takes  herself  and  her  art  seriously, 
whose  views  of  life,  as  expressed  in  her  art, 
are  pessimistic,  and  whose  humour  inclines 
toward  irony;  it  developed  an  actress  of 
strikingly  original  methods  and  of  remark-  mQ^ 
able  emotional  power,  an  actress  also  of 
uncommon  versatility,  whose  comedy  is  effer- 
vescent and  sparkling,  possessing  a  quality 
of  wjt  that  is  bitingly  keen  and  cruelly  pene- 
trating.^ 

Mrs.  Fiske  was  born  in   New  Orleans  in 
1866.     Her  maiden  name  was  Marie  Augusta 


5  2  Famous  Actresses  of  t/ie  Day. 

Davey,  her  father  being  Thomas  Davey,  a 
pioneer  circuit  manager  in  the  South  and 
West ;  but  from  the  first  she  was  known  as 
Minnie  Maddem,  after  her  mother,  whose 
name  was  Lizzie  Maddem,  and  who  was 
herself  an  actress  of  some  promise,  and  a 
musician  of  much  abihty.  Mrs.  Fiske's 
grandmother  was  an  English  girl  of  good 
family,  who  eloped  with  her  music-teacher, 
and  was,  in  consequence,  cut  off  even  with- 
out the  proverbial  shilling.  The  young 
couple,  however,  managed  to  exist  somehow, 
and  with  the  usual  poor  man's  luck  were 
blessed  with  a  large  family.  There  were 
seven  children,  besides  father  and  mother, 
when  the  family  immigrated  to  America, 
where  the  father  formed  a  concert  company, 
in  which  each  of  the  youngsters  played  some 
instrument,  and  Lizzie  Maddem,  in  a  high 
comb  and  queer  pantalettes,  at  the  age  of 
twelve,  was  the  first  comet  of  the  strolling 
band.     It  is  a  tradition  in  the  family  that 


Minnie  Maddern  Fiske.  53 

'Lizzie  Maddern  at  that  age  could  score  the 
music  for  the  orchestra. 

Little  Minnie  Maddern  made  her  appear- 
ance on  the  stage  at  a  very  early  age  and  in 
a  most  unconventional  fashion.  Her  mother, 
while  playing  in  New  Orleans,  was  accus- 
tomed to  leave  the  child  at  a  hotel  in  care  of 
a  coloured  nurse,  who,  perceiving  that  the 
baby  was  a  sound  sleeper,  became  negligent 
in  the  fulfilment  of  her  duties.  One  night, 
while  the  nurse  was  away  enjoying  herself 
with  friends,  the  baby  woke  up. 

"  I  am  sure  that  I  remember  it  quite  dis- 
tinctly," said  Mrs.  Fiske,  in  telling  the  story. 
"  There  was  a  dim  light  in  the  room  —  and  I 
was  alone.  Oh,  the  horrible  idea!  I  had 
never,  to  my  knowledge,  been  alone  before 
in  my  life.  First  I  was  frightened ;  then  I 
was  indignant.  I  scrambled  out  of  bed  and 
began  tugging  on  what  clothes  I  could  find, 
crying  bitterly  all  the  time,  and  with  but  one 
thought,  —  to  find  my  mother.     I  had  once 


54  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

been  taken  to  the  theatre  in  the  daytime, 
and  I  was  determined  to  go  there.  At  last, 
half-dressed,  bareheaded,  for  my  hat  was  in  a 
big  wardrobe  and  I  would  not  have  dared  to 
open  the  door,  I  went  out  into  the  streets '  I 
have  to  this  day  a  vivid  recollection  of  how 
brilliant  and  interesting  the  streets  were  to 
my  eyes  that  had  never  seen  such  sights  be- 
fore. I  forgot  to  cry,  I  forgot  to  be  fright- 
ened, and  I  saw  some  fascinating  things 
before  a  good-natured  fellow  picked  me  up, 
discovered  my  identity,  and  took  me  safely 
to  the  theatre.  I  recall  distinctly  being  held 
by  my  new  friend  and  identified  at  the  box- 
office  ;  then  being  passed  over  to  a  boy  who 
took  me  around  to  a  narrow,  dark  door  and 
carried  me  into  a  lumbery  place  and  put  me 
in  a  chair  where  I  looked  out  into  what 
seemed  a  bright,  sunshiny  world  with  queer 
trees  and  fairies.  Just  then  I  spied  my 
mother.  She  was  dressed  like  a  fairy,  and 
she    was   just    coming   out    of   a   water-lily 


Minnie  Maddern  Fiske,  5  5 

—  for  it  was  the  transformation  scene  of  a 
spectacle.  I  was  very  much  pleased  with 
mamma's  appearance.  You  see,  I  was  a 
veritable  child  of  the  stage.  I  had  no  dis- 
approval, even  at  so  young  an  age,  of  tights, 
even  when  they  were  on  my  mother.  I 
slipped  right  out  of  that  chair,  and,  before 
any  one  saw  what  I  was  going  to  do,  I  ran 
right  to  her  and  began  explaining  my  nurse's 
treachery.  I  am  told  that  I  was  received 
with  applause,  and  that  my  first  appearance, 
even  though  it  was  impromptu,  was  a  success. 
It  was  a  bit  irregular,  but  it  was  an  appear- 
ance, and  I  hadn't  a  touch,  even,  of  stage 
fright." 

After  that  the  child  was  kept  in  the  the- 
atre, cradled  in  a  big  trunk  in  her  mother's 
dressing-room.  It  was  not  long,  however, 
before  her  mother  fashioned  her  a  Scotch 
costume,  and  she  was  sent  on  the  stage 
between  the  tragedy  and  the  farce  to  sing 
about   "Jamie  Coming  over  the  Meadow," 


56  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

and  to  dance  the  Highland  fling.  From  that 
time  until  her  marriage  to  Harrison  Grey 
Fiske  in  1890,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
months  here  and  there  spent  in  different 
schools,  Minnie  Maddern  was  continuously 
on  the  stage. 

Her  first  appearance  in  a  play  occurred 
when  she  was  three  years  old.  She  played 
the  Duke  of  York  in  Shakespeare's  *'  Richard 
HI."  Who  the  Richard  was  Mrs.  Fiske  does 
not  remember,  but  she  told  Miss  Mildred 
Aldrich  the  following  amusing  story  of  an- 
other early  experience : 

"I  began  playing  at  three,  or  I  might 
really  say  at  two,  and  before  I  was  twelve 
I  had  in  my  father's  strolling  company  acted 
an  old  woman's  part,  when  the  old  woman 
was  sick  and  there  was  no  one  else  to  do  it. 
But  I  can  tell  you  of  a  very  funny  time  when 
I  played  with  Barry  Sullivan.  You  know  I 
did  all  the  children  in  Shakespeare's  plays 
with   him,  and  often  acted   more  than   one 


Minnie  Maddern  Fiske,  57 

part.  I  remember  distinctly  the  night  that 
he  first  played  *  Macbeth/  I  must  tell  you 
first,  that  you  may  understand  better,  that 
the  theatre  was  not  to  me  what  it  is  to  chil- 
dren who  are  taken  into  it  when  they  are  old 
enough  to  realise  it.  I  was  almost  born  in 
it.  I  do  not  remember  a  time  when  it  was 
not  my  home.  It^had  no  glamour  to  me.  I 
kaew  no  fear  of  it  nor  any  great  emotion 
about  it.  I  just  loved  it  naturally  as  other 
children  love  brothers  and  sisters. 

"I  was  to  play  one  of  the  apparitions 
in  *  Macbeth.'  I  did  not  care  much  about 
learning  parts ;  I  had  to  be  bribed  to  do 
that.  On  this  occasion  the  piece  was,  as 
usual,  put  on  in  a  hurry,  and  at  rehearsal 
I  stuck  hopelessly  in  my  speech.  But, 
though  I  was  only  three,  I  had  the  assur- 
ance of  an  old  stager.  I  made  the  stock 
declaration  that  I  should  be  all  right  at 
night.  Well,  at  night  I  wasn't  'all  right,' 
but  that  didn't  trouble  me.     I  was  put  on 


58  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

the  trap,  and  a  funny  little  ghost  I  must 
have  been,  with  my  bristling  red  curls  and 
my  nightgown,  as,  with  a  branch  in  my 
hand,  I  appeared  before  Sullivan,  and  with 
the  temerity  of  an  old  actor  began  to  fake 
my  lines.  I  got  out  something  about  like 
this,  and  my  voice  must  have  been  pretty 
shrill,  for  I  was  greeted  with  laughter  :  '  Be 
lion  mettled,  proud,  and  take  no  heed  there 
perspirers  are/  The  audience  shrieked,  and 
Barry  hissed  between  his  teeth,  *Take  her 
off  !  Take  her  off ! '  and  I  was  unexpectedly 
lowered  out  of  sight,  quite  disgusted,  for  I 
was  very  well  satisfied  with  myself.  Poor 
Sullivan !  I  remember  he  took  me  on  his 
knee  after  the  act,  and  plaintively  remon- 
strated with  me.  He  offered  me  lollipops  if 
I  would  learn  the  lines  before  the  next  day. 
I  had  not  then  made  the  acquaintance  of 
lollipops,  but  they  sounded  good,  and  I  got 
my  lines  —  and  got  the  lollipops,  for  Barry 
was  a  man  of  his  word." 


Minnie  Maddern  Fiske.  59 

When  Laura  Keene  made  her  great  pro- 
duction of  Boucicault*s  "  Hunted  Down," 
Minnie  Maddern  was  the  Willie  Lee,  being 
then  but  five  or  six  years  old.  She  later 
played  Prince  Arthur  in  the  notable  revival 
of  "  King  John  '*  at  Booth's  Theatre,  New 
York,  with  John  McCullough,  J.  B.  Booth, 
and  Agnes  Booth  in  the  cast.  vBef ore  attain- 
ing her  fourteenth  year  she  had  acted  many  ' 
of  the  leading  juvenile  parts,  and  occasion- 
ally old  women's  parts,  so  remarkable  was 
her  adaptability.  Long  before  she  wore 
long  dresses  off  the  stage,  she  had  assumed 
them  in  the  theatre.  When  but  twelve  years 
of  age  she  played  Francois  in  '*  Richelieu," 
and  Louise  in  "  The  Two  Orphans."  When 
thirteen  she  assumed  old  woman  parts  with 
astonishing  success. 

She  was  the  original  little  Fritz  in  J.  K. 
Emmett's  New  York  productions  of  "  Fritz  " 
at  both  Wallack's  Theatre  and  at  Niblo's ; 
she  played  Paul  Jn  "  The  Octoroon  "  in  the 


6o  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

great  Philadelphia  production  at  the  Chest- 
nut Street  Theatre  ;  she  played  Franko  in 
"Guy  Mannering,"  when  Mrs.  Waller  was 
the  Meg  Merriles  ;  she  was  the  Sybil  in 
Carlotta  LeClercq's  production  of  "The 
Sheep  in  Wolffs  Clothing ; "  she  played 
Mary  Morgan  in  "Ten  Nights  in  a  Bar- 
room/' when  Yankee  Locke  produced  it  in 
Boston  ;  she  did  the  child  in  Oliver  Doud 
Byron's  spectacular  production  of  "Across 
the  Continent/'  She  was  at  the  Chestnut 
Street  Theatre  with  E.  L.  Davenport,  and 
played  the  child's  parts  in  his  repertory. 
When  Augustin  Daly  produced  "  Monsieur 
Alphonse"  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre, 
New  York,  she  was  the  Adrienne ;  when 
Mrs.  Scott-Sid  dons  first  played  "  Frou-Frou  " 
she  was  the  Georgie.  She  played  both 
Heinrich  and  Minna  in  "  Rip  Van  Winkle," 
and  she  was  the  Eva  of  Bidwell's  produc- 
tion of  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin."  With  Daly 
she   also    played    the   boy's   part   in    "The 


Minnie  Maddeni  Fiske.  6i 

Bosom  Friend/*  and  Alfred  in  the  first  road 
production  of  "  Divorce."  Other  parts  were 
the  child  in  "The  Chicago  Fire,'*  produced 
in  New  York  ;  Hilda  in  Emmett's  "  Karl  and 
Hilda ;  "  Ralph  Rackstraw  in  Hooley's  Juve- 
nile Pinafore  Company ;  and  Clip  in  "  A 
Messenger  from  Jarvis  Section."  At  the 
age  of  ten  she  acted  the  Sun  God  in  David 
Bidweirs  "The  Witch,"  at  New  Orleans, 
and  she  also  appeared  in  "Aladdin,"  "The 
White  Fawn,"  and  other  spectacular  pieces. 

Mrs.  Fiske's  recollections  of  Lucille  West- 
ern, with  whom  she  played  a  number  of 
children's  parts,  are  very  vivid. 

"I  recall  that  in  one  play  in  which  I 
appeared  with  her,"  said  Mrs.  Fiske,  "  I 
played  the  part  of  a  little  boy  who  died. 
I  could  not  forget  if  I  tried  that  haggard 
and  despairing  face  that  used  to  behd  above 
me,  as  my  little  body  became  limp  and  still 
in  my  simulation  of  death  —  and  with  chil- 
dren the  emotion  of  acting  is  much  stronger 


62  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

than  most  people  think.  After  my  eyes 
closed  there  always  seemed  to  me  a  long, 
horrible  silence.  Then  she  grasped  my  arm 
with  a  force  that  well-nigh  made  me  scream. 
<  Willie  !  Willie ! '  she  called,  quickly,  harshly, 
but  with  such  entreaty  that  I  found  it  diffi- 
cult not  to  open  my  eyes  and  reply.  /Child 
though  I  was,  I  could  feel  her  suffer.  Then 
she  lay  me  down,  oh,  so  carefully,  so  gently, 
and  through  my  closed  lids  I  felt  her  look 

^      at  me,  just  as  I  felt,  rather  than  heard,  her 
whisper,  *  He  is  dead.      I  heard  the  curtain 
roll  down ;  I  heard  the  cheers  of  the  audi- 
ence, but  the  great  woman  seemed  to  think 
^^fe  ^       only  of  me.     *  My  darling,  my  darling,'  she 
^  ^v     cried,  as  I  sat  up  cheerfully  in  my  property 

'^  cot,  '  did  I  hurt  your  little  baby  arm }  ^  I 
am  so  forgetful,  so  rough.  I  know  I  hurt 
you.'  *Not  a  bit,'  I  said,  stoutly,  though  I 
could  hardly  move  the  poor  abused  member.^ 
Then  Lucille  Western  laughed  with  delight, 
as  she  called,  *  I  say,  Pike,  this  girl's  got  the 


Minnie  Madderii  Fiske,  63 

stuff  in  her/  and  she  hit  me  a  thump  on 
the  back,  almost  as  painful  as  my  wrenched 
arm.  We  have  lived  by  the  age  of  Lucille 
Westerns,  but  they  were  great  in  their  time." 
At  the  age  of  sixteen  Miss  Maddern  be- 
came a  star.  At  that  time  Lotta,  Maggie 
Mitchell,  and  Annie  Pixley  were  at  the 
height  of  their  success  in  a  variety  of  dra- 
matic fare  called  "  protean  pieces,"  plays,  or 
rather  entertainments,  that  depended  for 
popularity  entirely  on  the  leading  performer's 
personality.  Some  undiscerning  person,  de- 
ceived by  Miss  Maddern's  girlish  figure, 
curly  red  hair,  and  odd  individuality,  thought 
that  he  saw  in  her  a  second  Lotta,  and  ac- 
cordingly brought  her  out  at  the  Park  Thea- 
tre, New  York,  May  20,  1882,  in  "  Fogg's  ^  j^.i3^ 
Ferry."  She  was  unsuited  for  that  kind  of  ^oh^n 
work,  and  what  impression  she  made  was 
due  to  her  thorough  stage  training.  In  1883 
she  appeared  in  "The  Storm  Child."  In 
1885  she   produced    Steele    Mackaye's   ver- 


64  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

sion  of  Sardou's  "  Andrea,"  which  he  called 
"  In  Spite  of  All."  "  The  Child  Wife  "  and 
"The  Puritan  Maid"  followed  in  1886, 
"  Caprice  "  in  1887,  "  Lady  Jemima  "  in  1888, 
and  "Featherbrain"  in  1889. 

In  March,  1890,  she  became  the  wife  of 
Harrison  Grey  Fiske,  of  the  New  York  Dra- 
matic Mirrory  and  retired  from  the  stage  for 
three  years.  It  is  not  generally  known  that 
this  was  her  second  venture  into  matrimony. 
When  only  a  girl  she  was  married,  contrary 
to  the  desires  of  her  friends,  to  LeGrande 
White,  a  musician,  who  managed  her  first  star- 
ring tour  and  from  whom  she  was  afterward 
divorced.  During  her  retirement  Mrs.  Fiske 
acted  occasionally  in  benefit  performances. 
She  also  did  considerable  literary  work, 
writing  a  number  of  short  stories  and  several 
plays,  among  them  ''A  Light  from  St. 
Agnes,"  first  played  by  herself  in  December, 
189s;  "Not  Guilty,"  "Grandpapa,"  "The 
Rose,"  played  by  the  Rosina  Yokes  company 


Minnie  Maddern  Fiske,  65 

with  Felix  Morris  in  the  leading  character ; 
"The  Dream  of  Matthew  Wayne/'  "John 
Doe,"  dramatised  from  a  sketch  by  Mr. 
Fiske;  " Fontenelle/'  written  in  collabora- 
tion with  Mr.  Fiske  and  produced  by  James 
O'Neill,  and  "The  Countess  Roudine,"  in 
which  Mrs.  Fiske  collaborated  with  Paul 
Kester,  and  which  was  produced  by  Modjeska. 
Mrs.  Fiske' s  return  to  the  stage  in  the 
fall  of  1893  was  signalised  by  a  remarkable 
impersonation  of  Nora  in  Ibsen's  "  A  Doll's  \ 
House,"  which  immediately  attracted  critical  '  ^ 
attention.  She  then  produced  in  November 
in  Boston  a  play  by  her  husband,  called 
"  Hester  Crewe."  This  was  a  disastrous 
failure,  and  two  years  more  of  private  life 
followed,  when  she  again  started  out,  touring 
the  West  and  South,  playing  at  first  Marie 
Deloche  in  "The  Queen  of  Liars,"  an  adapta- 
tion of  Daudet's  "La  Menteuse."  This 
was  followed  with  productions  of  "  A  Doll's 
House,"  Daudet's  "  A  White  Pink,"  her  own 


y 


66  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

"A  Light  from  St.  Agnes/'  Dumas's  "La 
Femme  de  Claude,"  Sardou's  "Divorgons," 
and  "  A  Right  to  Happiness,"  afterward 
called  "  Love  Finds  the  Way."  On  March 
,  2,  1897,  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre,  New 
|iw  York,  she  made  her  greatest  success  in 
Lorimer  Stoddard's  dramatisation  of  Thomas 
'  Hardy's  novel  "Tess  of  the  D'Urbervilles." 
Mrs.  Fiske  continued  to  be  the  same  assidu- 
ous producer  last  season,  during  which  she 
brought  out  Mrs.  Oscar  Beringer's  "  A  Bit 
of  Old  Chelsea,"  Horace  B.  Fry's  "Little 
Italy,"  a  little  one-act  tragedy  of  more  than 
ordinary  worth  and  a  realistic  study  of  a  bit 
of  metropolitan  life  never  before  presented 
in  the  theatre,  "  Frou-Frou,"  and  "Magda." 

Mrs.  Fiske's  "Tess"  is  a  personation  of 

tremendous  intensity  and   startling  realism. 

Its  emotional  phases  are  expressed  with  the 

0^^     utmost    quietness,    but    with    a   power    that 

^-         never  fails  to  reach  the  heart  of   the  most 

unimpressible  spectator.     It  is  a  marvellous 


Minnie  Maddern  Fiske,  6y 

exhibition  of  the  inherent  force  of  suppression. 
The  crescendo  in  Mrs.  Fiske' s  characterisa- 
tion is  remarkable;  there  is  constantly  in- 
creasing suspense  and  continually  growing 
emotional  force  until  the  break  comes  just 
after  the  murder  of  Alec.  The  pitiful  seri- 
ousness and  the  pathetic  happiness  of  the 
woman  in  her  love  for  Angel  Clare ;  her 
realisation  after  marriage  that  her  disgrace 
is  still  her  own  secret ;  her  confession  and 
that  despairing  plea,  "Don't  leave  me! 
Please,  don't  leave  me ! "  the  desperation 
that  drives  her  again  to  Alec,  and  finally  the 
killing  of  the  wretch,  —  all  these  are  great 
moments  with  the  actress,  each  contributing 
its  exact  proportion  to  the  unity  of  her 
creation.  The  person  that  sees  "  Tess  "  for 
the  first  time  is  so  moved  by  the  tragedy 
that  is  passing  on  the  stage  that  he  takes 
little  account  of  the  actress's  art,  an  involun- 
tary tribute  that  he  pays  to  her  spontaneity 
and  naturalness. 


68  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

Mrs.  Fiske's  ability  in  comedy  is  splendidly 
shown  in  **  Divorgoiis/'  She  acts  the  drama 
with  a  refined  abandon  that  is  positively 
captivating,  making  Cyprienne  deliciously 
capricious  and  delightfully  feminine.  There 
is  a  piquancy  about  her  performance  that  is 
difficult  to  describe,  and  a  zest  in  the  way 
she  makes  her  points  that  establishes  them 
with  wonderful  clearness. 


CHAPTER  V. 

IDA    CONQUEST. 

Ida  Conquest  made  her  first  appearance 
as  a  professional  actress  with  Alexander 
Salvini  in  1892  at  a  special  matinee  perform- 
ance at  the  Tremont  Theatre,  Boston,  of 
'*  Rohan,  the  Silent,''  in  which  she  played 
Isobel.  A  few  weeks  previous  to  that  she  had 
gained  considerable  notice  by  her  work  in  two 
dramas  acted  at  the  Columbia  Theatre,  Bos- 
ton, by  students  of  the  American  Academy 
of  Dramatic  Arts,  and  she  was  also  well 
known  in  that  city  as  an  amateur  actress. 
Her  first  stage  experience,  however,  began 
when  she  was  only  eight  years  old  as  Little 
Buttercup  in  the  Bostpu  Museum  Juvenile 
production  of  "Pinafore,''  in  which  she  ap- 
peared over  three  hundred  times. 
69 


7o  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

Miss    Conquest    is    a    Boston    girl,    the 

daughter  of  Thomas  Conquest,  a  prominent 

merchant  of  that  city.     She  is  a  blonde  of 

extremely  attractive   features,    with   golden, 

.^  gleaming  hair  and  deep  blue  eyes.     She  has 

''   not  the  unexpressive  baby  face,  so  often  asso- 

-^   ciated  with  the  blonde  type  of  feminine  beauty, 

but  there  is  an  abundance  of  character  in  her 

S^\ .     finely  chiselled  nose  and  firmly  rounded  chin. 

She  is  tall,  lithe,  and  graceful,  —  well  set  up, 

as  the  West  Pointer  would  say. 

After  her  success  with  Mr.  Salvini  Miss 
Conquest  was  engaged  by  A.  M.  Palmer, 
with  whom  she  remained  until  his  company 
was  disbanded.  Coming  under  Daniel  Froh- 
man's  management,  she  was  seen  as  Phyllis 
Lee  in  "The  Charity  Ball,"  Carey  in  "Ala- 
bama,'* Sybil  in  "The  Dancing  Girl,"  and 
in  "Americans  Abroad."  In  1895  she  be- 
came a  member  of  Charles  Frohman*s  Empire 
Theatre  company,  with  which  she  acted 
Musette  in  "Bohemia,"  Justine  Emptage  in 


Ida  Conquest,  71 

"  The  Benefit  of  a  Doubt/'  Lady  Belton  in 
"Marriage/*  Amy  Chil worth  in  "Liberty 
Hall/'  Renee  de  Cochefort  (also  played  by 
Viola  Allen)  in  "  Under  the  Red  Robe/'  and 
Babiole  in  "The  Conquerors."  She  also 
played  in  London  in  "  Too  Much  Johnson  '* 
with  William  Gillette. 

Last  season  Miss  Conquest  met  with 
great  success  in  Boston  in  Mr.  Gillette's 
delightful  farce,  "  Because  She  Loved  Him 
So/'  creating  the  part  of  the  jealous  wife 
when  that  play  was  produced  at  the  Boston 
Museum  in  December,  1898.  She  displayed 
splendid  abilities  as  a  light  comedy  actress, 
developing  the  character  along  mock-heroic 
lines,  and  playing  it  with  a  seriousness  that 
was  keenly  ludicrous  and  yet  absolutely  with- 
out a  touch  of  burlesque.  Her  jealous  tirades 
were  full  of  unconscious  humour,  and  she 
walked  through  the  most  absurd  situations 
with  a  serenity  that  added  tenfold  to  their 
ridiculousness. 


^         CHAPTER   VI. 


BLANCHE    WALSH. 


Blanche  Walsh  was  for  a  number  of 
years  estimated  as  a  more  than  ordinarily 
capable  actress,  but  not  until  she  fell  heiress 
last  season  to  the  Sardou  drama,  with  which 
the  late  Fanny  Davenport  had  been  identi- 
fied in  this  country,  were  the  breadth  and 
force  and  fine  dramatic  quality  of  her  talent 
discovered.  Miss  Walsh  was  the  leading 
lady  of  a  Denver  stock  company  when 
she  received  the  "Antony  and  Cleopatra" 
manuscript  and  a  notice  to  report  in  New 
York  for  rehearsals  at  the  earliest  possi- 
ble moment.  She  closed  with  the  Denver 
Company  on  Wednesday  and  arrived  in  New 
York  the  following  Friday,  letter  perfect  in  a 
72 


Copyright,  1898,  by  J.  Schloss. 

BLANCHE    WALSH 
As  Cleopatra  in  "  Cleopatra  " 


Blanche  Walsh,  73 

part  of  unusual  length.  " Fedora''  and  "  La 
Tosca ''  were  mastered  in  the  same  marvellous 
fashion,  for  Miss  Walsh  is  what  stage  folks 
term  a  wonder  as  a  "quick  study."  When  she 
took  the  heroine's  role  in  "  Secret  Service  " 
at  short  notice,  it  was  stated  that  she  required 
only  ten  hours  thoroughly  to  acquire  a  part. 

It  is  too  late  a  day  to  find  fault  with  the 
strongly  theatrical  flavour  of  the  Sardou  plays 
of   the   past   ten  years.     Their   artificiality, 
sensationalism,  and   claptrap   are   apparent. 
Nevertheless  they  are  an  effective  medium 
for   the   variety   of  acting  of   which   Sarah 
Bernhardt  is  the  extreme  exponent,  acting 
that   is    entirely  art,   and   which   makes  its  / ^^ 
effects  by  using  the  body  as  a  kind  of  emo-  \  ^  L 
tional   instrument.     The  theory  is   that  an   I  ^,  > 
emotion   is   first  of   all   mentally  conceived 
and  then  mechanically  expressed  by  the  per-  j 
fectly  trained  body.    It  allows  little  for  spon-  | 
taneity,  and  it  scorns  absolutely  the  actor  i 
who  "loses  himself  in  his  part." 


74  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

When  I  say  that  Miss  Walsh  is  a  splendid 
example  of  this  school  of  acting,  I  give  her 
great  praise.  I  certainly  never  saw  Sardou's 
Cleopatra  played  better  than  she  played  it, 
not  even  by  the  divine  Sarah  herself.  I  do 
not  mean  to  imply  that  Miss  Walsh  is  the 
mistress  of  the  art  of  acting  that  Bernhardt 
is,  for  such  a  statement  would  be  absurd. 
But  the  Sardou  Cleopatra,  which  Bern- 
hardt's  great  art  only  tended  to  cheapen, 
Miss  Walsh,  because  of  greater  tempera- 
mental sympathy,  perhaps,  was  able  to  make 
a  living,  breathing  being.  It  was  the  human 
quality  in  Miss  Walsh's  conception  that  was 
its  most  striking  feature.  Hers  was  a  Cleo- 
patra easily  understood,  a  Cleopatra  that  won 
sympathy,  a  quality  I  never  before  found  in 
this  Sardou  character.  In  physical  appear- 
ance Miss  Walsh  almost  personifies  passion, 
for  her  beauty  is  of  a  warm  Southern  type, 
her  hair  of  shining  jet,  and  her  eyes  black 
and  burning.    Often  in  modern  rdles  she  has 


Blanche   Walsh,  75 

seemed  cold  and  statuesque,  but  her  Cleo- 
patra, while  queenly,  was  warm-blooded  and 
fervid. 

In  "  La  Tosca  "  and  "  Fedora ''  Miss  Walsh 
was  equally  successful,  her  Fedora  particu- 
larly being  a  most  beautiful  picture.  The 
"strong'*  scene  at  the  end  of  the  third  act 
was  powerfully  played,  and  her  portrayal  of 
the  woman  sacrificing  her  reputation  to  save 
her  lover's  life  (a  Frenchy  conception,  by  the 
way,  that  does  not  convincingly  appeal  to 
an  American  audience)  was  very  vivid.  The 
death  scene  was  realistic  and  exceedingly 
artistic.  It  did  not  horrify;  rather  say  it 
grieved. 

Blanche  Walsh  is  a  New  York  girl,  the 
daughter  of  Thomas  Power  Walsh,  at  one 
time  the  warden  of  the  Tombs,  and  up  to 
the  time  of  his  death  in  June,  1899,  ^  well- 
known  character  of  the  famous  Sixth  Ward. 
She  was  born  on  January  4,  1873,  and  went 
to  Public  School  No.  50  until  she  was  gradu- 


^6  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

ated  in  1886.  Her  first  public  appearance 
occurred  in  June,  1887,  at  a  benefit  perform- 
ance in  the  Windsor  Theatre.  Miss  Walsh 
played  Desdemona,  and  the  occasion  was 
in  many  respects  a  memorable  one,  for  the 
whole  East  Side  was  interested  in  the 
debut  of  **  Fatty  '*  Walsh's  girl  as  an 
actress. 

Her  first  professional  engagement  was 
with  Thomas  McDonough  in  a  small  part 
in  the  melodrama,  "  Siberia."  When  she 
was  only  sixteen  years  old  she  was  en- 
gaged to  play  Olivia  in  Marie  Wainwright's 
production  of  "Twelfth  Night,"  and  she  re- 
mained with  Miss  Wainwright  three  seasons, 
appearing  as  Zamora  in  **The  Honeymoon," 
Florence  Marygold  in  "My  Uncle's  Will," 
Madeline  in  "  Frederic  Lemaitre,"  Grace 
Harkaway  in  "London  Assurance,"  and 
Queen  Elizabeth  in  "Amy  Robsart."  Her 
Elizabeth  was  really  a  remarkable  imperson- 
ation, especially  when   one  considered  that 


Blanche  Walsh,  yy 

Miss  Walsh  at  the  time  was  only  nineteen 
years  old.  It  was  characterised  by  a  dignity 
majestic  and  regal,  and  a  beauty  of  face  and 
figure  that  certainly  never  belonged  to  the 
original  of  the  character.  Miss  Walsh  de- 
servedly received  much  praise,  and  as  a 
result  she  took  a  step  forward  in  her 
profession. 

Under  Charles  Frohman's  management 
Miss  Walsh  created  the  role  of  Diana 
Stockton  in  Bronson  Howard's  "Aristoc- 
racy," produced  in  September,  1892,  and 
continued  with  this  play  for  two  seasons. 
She  next  appeared  as  Kate  Kennion  in  **  The 
Girl  I  Left  behind  Me,"  and  on  January  i, 
1895,  joined  Nat  Goodwin,  playing  the  hero- 
ines in  **A  Gilded  Fool,"  "In  Mizzoura," 
"David  Garrick,"  "The  Nominee,"  "The 
Gold  Mine,"  and  "  Lend  Me  Five  Shillings." 
After  this  came  a  season  of  summer  stock  in 
Washington,  during  which  time  she  had  the 
leading   parts    in    "Pink    Dominoes,"   "My 


78  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

Awful  Dad,"  "American  Assurance/*  "My 
Wife's  Mother/*  and  also  played  Romeo  in 
E.  A.  Lancaster's  one-act  piece,  "Romeo's 
First  Love."  This  was  a  curious  little  play, 
founded  on  Romeo's  unreciprocated  love  for 
Rosaline,  referred  to  in  the  first  act  of 
"  Romeo  and  Juliet."  The  author  endeav- 
oured to  imagine  scenes  that  might  have 
taken  place  between  Rosaline  and  Romeo, 
just  previous  to  the  time  when  Romeo  ac- 
companied Benvolio  and  Mercutio  to  the 
Capulet's  ball  and  there  met  Juliet.  Besides 
acting  Romeo,  Miss  Walsh  superintended 
the  production  of  the  play,  stage-managed 
it,  selected  the  costumes,  and  drilled  the 
company. 

She  was  next  heard  of  as  the  adventuress, 
Mrs.  Bulford,  in  "The  Great  Diamond  Rob- 
bery," produced  in  New  York  City  in  1895. 
In  November  she  assumed  the  part  of 
>Trilby  at  the  Garden  Theatre,  New  York, 
and    played    it   for    the    remainder   of    the 


Blanche  Walsh.  79 

season.  This  was  another  instance  of  a 
remarkably  quick  study.  She  was  coming 
from  a  rehearsal  at  noon  when  she  was  told 
that  Virginia  Harned,  who,  by  the  way, 
was  the  original  stage  Trilby,  was  ill,  and 
there  was  no  one  to  play  the  character  at 
the  afternoon  performance,  which  began 
at  two  o'clock.  It  hardly  seemed  possible  »^ 
that  Miss  Walsh  could  do  more  than  read 
the  part,  yet  at  two  o'clock  she  went  on, 
seemingly  letter  perfect,  and  acted  as  if  she 
had  had  days  instead  of  minutes  to  prepare 
herself  for  the  r61e.  I'-       -  ^-'^^^^ 

Rejoining  Nat  Goodwin's  company,  she 
went  with  him  to  Australia,  assuming  all 
the  characters  she  had  previously  played 
with  him,  and  in  addition  acting  Lydia 
Languish  in  "The  Rivals,"  and  Louise  in 
"  Gringoire.''  Returning  to  America,  in 
October,  1896,  she  originated  the  part  of 
Margaret  Neville  in  "  Heartease,''  with 
Palmer's  stock  company.     In  January,  Miss 


So  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

Walsh  played  in  "  Straight  from  the  Heart/* 
in  New  York,  appearing  in  the  dual  role  of 
the  brother  and  sister,  Harold  and  Clara 
Nugent. 

She  was  then  called  upon  to  take  at  short 
notice  the  character  of  Edith  Varney  in 
William  Gillette's  "Secret  Service."  She 
saw  the  play  for  the  first  time  on  a  Tuesday 
evening,  and  with  one  rehearsal  played  the 
part  the  following  night,  and  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  Boston  engagement,  sailing 
for  England  May  5,  1897,  and  opening 
with  '<  Secret  Service,"  at  the  Adelphi 
Theatre,  London. 

On  her  return  to  America  she  played  for 
two  weeks  with  "Secret  Service,"  at  the 
Empire  Theatre,  New  York,  then  with  Sol 
Smith  Russell  in  "  A  Bachelor's  Romance,"  at 
the  Garden  Theatre.  In  January,  1898,  she 
returned  to  the  Empire  Theatre,  playing 
Jeanne  Marie  in  "The  Conquerors."  On 
May  twentieth,  she  joined  the  Herald  Square 


Blanche  Walsh,  8i 

stock  company.  She  next  became  leading 
lady  of  the  Manhattan  Beach  Stock  Com- 
pany of  Denver,  which  position  she  left  for 
her  starring  tour  in  the  Sardou  drama  with 
Melbourne  MacDowell. 


't^x 


CHAPTER   VII. 

ANNIE    RUSSELL. 

In  England  they  called  Annie  Russell 
"  the  Duse  of  the  English-speaking  stage." 
This  appellation,  flattering  though  it  may 
seem,  does  not  convey  a  correct  idea  of  Miss 
RusselFs  personality.  It  is  true  that  in 
the  superficial  aspects  of  her  art,  in  her 
method  of  physical  expression,  in  the  quiet- 
ness of  her  acting,  and  in  her  freedom  from 
merely  conventional  pantomime.  Miss  Rus- 
sell does  remind  one  of  the  great  Italian  ; 
but  in  the  fundamental  factors  of  individual- 
ity and  temperament,  the  two  are  widely  dif- 
ferent. Duse  is  an  actress  of  tremendous 
emotional  power,  a  woman  of  suffering,  the 

epitome  of  passion  and  tragedy  ;  Miss  Rus- 

82 


ANNIE    RUSSELL 
As  Catherine  in  '*  Catherine  " 


Annie  Russell,  83 

sell,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  tender,  sensitive 
plant,  pathetic  rather  than  emotional,  and  she 
no  more  suggests  passion  than  an  iceberg 
suggests  the  tropics.  Duse,  too,  is  entirely 
out  of  sympathy  with  the  spirit  of  comedy, 
while  Miss  Russell  has  a  quaint,  delicate 
humour  that  is  like  a  burst  of  sunshine  on 
an  April  day.  Thoroughly  honest  and  sin- 
cere, loving  and  believing  in  her  art,  sweetly  ^j^^  ji 
womanly  and  beautifully  sympathetic  by  na- 
ture, Annie  Russell  stands  alone  as  a  subtle 
portrayer  of  sentiment,  that  keenly  sensitive 
emotion  which  a  false  touch  so  quickly  trans- 
forms into  mawkishness  and  ridicule. 

Miss  Russell  was  born  in  1864,  '^^  Liver- 
pool, England,  but  went  with  her  family  to 
Canada  when  she  was  very  young.  None 
of  her  family  ever  had  anything  to  do  with 
the  stage,  and  her  becoming  an  actress  was 
largely  a  matter  of  financial  necessity.  "  It 
never  entered  my  head  as  a  girl  that  I  should 
ever  be  an  actress,'*  said   Miss  Russell,  in 


84  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

speaking  of  her  early  life.  "  If  I  had  uttered 
such  a  thought  I  should  at  once  have  received 
a  mild  rebuke  from  my  mother,  who  at  that 
time  shared  the  almost  universal  prejudice 
against  the  stage  of  country  people  of  her 
generation.  I  am  sure  she  would  have 
fainted  if  any  one  had  told  her  that  not  only 
her  two  daughters,  prim  little  girls,  but  also 
baby  Tommie  —  afterward  one  of  the  best 
known  of  the  Little  Lord  Fauntleroys,  but 
then  just  beginning  to  lisp  his  first  words  — 
would  in  after  years  be  *  stage  folk.' 

"From  a  little  child,''  added  Miss  Russell, 
"my  ambition  was  to  be  an  authoress.  My 
first  and  only  attempt  in  the  realms  of  liter- 
ature was  received  in  terms  of  unstinted 
praise  by  the  few  friends  that  were  permitted 
to  read  the  manuscript.  After  a  great  deal 
of  thought  as  to  which  of  the  weekly  papers 
should  be  allowed  to  launch  a  new  star  on 
the  literary  firmament,  I  sent  my  story  to  a 
well-known  periodical,  accompanied,  more  as 


Annie  Russell.  85 

a  matter  of  form  than  anything  else,  with 
stamps  for  its  return.  After  two  weeks  of 
anxious  waiting,  one  morning  I  received  a 
suspiciously  thick  package,  bearing  in  the 
corner  the  name  of  the  paper  to  which  I  had 
sent  my  story,  ft  hurried  up-stairs  to  my 
own  little  room,  imagining  all  kinds  of  causes 
for  such  a  lengthy  reply.^  Perhaps  they 
wanted  me  to  write  another  and  longer  story, 
and  had  sent  me  a  rough  outline  of  the  plot, 
together  with  further  instructions.  *Yes, 
that  must  be  it,'  I  thought.  I  broke  the 
seal,  opened  the  folded  sheets  and  was  con- 
fronted by  my  own  story,  together  with  a 
printed  slip  informing  me  that  my  manuscript 
was  returned,  not  necessarily  because  of  lack 
of  literary  merit,  but  it  was  not  exactly  suited 
to  their  pages.  It  was  a  death-blow  to  my 
literary  ambitions.  I  laid  the  story  away  in 
a  bureau  drawer,  and  I  never  was  guilty  of 
a  second  offence.'' 

Miss  Russell's  fondness  for  the  stage  was 


e 


86  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

developed   by   amateur   theatricals,  and  her 
first  appearance  was  at  a  church  fair.     The 
leading   woman  in  the  play  that  was  to  be 
f^      presented  was  taken  ill  at  the  last  moment, 
and  Annie  Russell,  then  a  bit  of  a  girfwith 
a   reputation    among    her     schoolmates    for 
rapid    memorising,   was    called  into   service. 
She  surprised  herself  by  being  the  hit  of  the 
piece.     Then    she  became    a  member   of   a 
dramatic  club,  and  from  that  to  the  profes- 
sional stage  proved  to  be  but  a  step.     The 
circumstances  of  her  d^but  at  the  age  of  ten 
years  Miss  Russell  relates  as  follows  : 
#     "  Miss  Rose  Eytinge  was  coming  to  Mon- 
treal to  play  '  Miss  Mult  on,'  and  as  she  car- 
ried  only  one  child  to  play  the  boy,   Paul, 
she  wrote  to  the  local  manager,  requesting 
^     ^     him  to  engage  a  girl  for  the   part  of  Jeanne 
\h  irJ.and  to  have  her  perfect  by  the  time  of  the 
Jy^     star's  arrival.     The  manager  advertised  for 
j^X       a  young  girl,  mamma  took  me  down,  and  in 
>A,        the  end  I  was  given  the  part.  I  need  scarcely 


Annie  Russell.  Sy 

say  I  was  very  proud,  for  it  was  quite  long 
and  important.  Miss  Eytinge  arrived,  and 
I  was  summoned  to  rehearsal.  When  she 
saw  me  she  was  dreadfully  put  out.  She 
sent  for  the  manager.  *  What's  this.?'  she 
cried,  pointing  to  me.  *  The  child  you  asked 
me  to  get,'  he  answered,  meekly.  *  I  said  a 
girl,  not  a  child.  Go  and  get  me  a  girl,  or 
a  young  woman  who  can  play  a  girl.  Get 
me  somebody.*  The  manager  protested  that 
the  desired  article  was  not  to  be  found  in 
Montreal.  'Don't  tell  me  that,'  returned 
Miss  Eytinge.  'Go  and  scour  the  town,' 
and  then  she  reiterated  her  formula,  *  Get 
me  somebody.' 

"The  full  significance  of  this  scene  had 
slowly  dawned  upon  me.  I  retired  in  the 
wings  and  set  up  a  dismal  howling.  *  Come 
here,  child,'  said  Miss  Eytinge,  whose  atten- 
tion had  been  attracted  —  it  couldn't  well 
help  having  been  attracted  —  by  my  vigorous 
outburst  of  grief.     'Do  you  want   to   play 


88  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

this  part  very  much  ? '  I  assured  her  I  did. 
'Well,  if  you  have  learned  it,  let  me  hear 
you/  She  went  through  the  lines  with  me 
and  she  seemed  satisfied.  Of  course  Jeanne 
ought  really  to  be  about  thirteen  or  fourteen, 
but  I  pleased  her,  and  she  arranged  with 
mamma  to  take  me  into  her  company  for  the 
remainder  of  the  season.  When  that  closed 
she  advised  that  I  should  go  to  New  York. 
The  advice  was  followed,  and  I  soon  got  an 
engagement  with  that  stage  children's  cata- 
pult, Hayerly's  juvenile  fPinafore.'  At  first 
I  was  only  in  the  chorus,  but  afterward 
I  sang  Josephine.  I  was  two  years  with 
Haverly." 

When  Miss  Russell  left  Haverly  she  ob- 
tained an  engagement  with  E.  A.  McDowell 
to  play  in  the  West  Indies,  and  she  appeared 
as  everything  from  young  girls  to  old  women. 
"  I  shouldn't  have  had  as  much  experience 
in  five  years  in  a  city  theatre,"  she  said. 
Her  first  important  engagement  was  as  Es- 


Annie  Russell,  89 

meralda  at  the  Madison  Square  Theatre,  New 
York,  when  she  was  sixteen  years  old.  How 
she  successfully  fooled  the  stage  manager, 
and  was  engaged  for  the  title  role,  is  best 
told  in  her  own  words : 

^  "My  dresses  even  then  were  not  very 
long,  and  my  hair  flowed  down  my  back. 
The  manager  looked  down  on  me  from  his  .  . 
towering  height,  and  decided  in  his  wisdom  .^^^ 
that  I  was  too  youthful. »  He  and  I  only 
exchanged  a  few  words,  and  as  I  felt  sure 
that  among  the  multitude  of  applicants  he 
would  not  remember  me,  I  determined  to 
play  a  little  trick.  So  I  went  home,  put  on 
a  long  dress,  did  my  hair  up  neatly,  and, 
assuming  as  ancient  and  demure  an  expres- 
sion as  I  could,  went  to  see  him  again.  He 
fell  into  the  snare,  and  I  got  the  part.'* 

"Esmeralda'*  was  one  of  the  great  suc- 
cesses of  stage  history.  Miss  Russell,  her- 
self, appeared  in  the  play  about  nine  hundred 
times,  350  of  them  in  New  York.     She  gave 


90  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

up  the  part  in  1882  when  she  was  married 
to  Eugene  Wiley  Presbrey.  Her  next  ven- 
ture was  in  another  great  success,  **  Hazel 
Kirke/*  After  that  she  played  Fusha 
Leach  in  "  Moths/'  but  her  attempt  to  carry 
off  the  breezy  American  girl  visiting  Euro- 
pean watering-places  was  more  diverting 
than  successful.  Later  came  Maggie,  the 
Highland  lassie  in  Gilbert's  "Engaged;'* 
Lady  Vavir  in  Gilbert's  fairy-like  comedy, 
"  Broken  Hearts  ;  "  Sylvia  Spencer  in  "  Our 
Society,"  and  Ada  Houghton  in  "Sealed 
Instructions." 

But  her  greatest  success,  next  to  "  Esmer- 
alda," was  in  "  Elaine,"  which  was  produced 
at  the  Madison  Square  Theatre  in  Decem- 
ber, 1887.  The  drama  was  by  Harry  Ed- 
wards and  George  Parsons  Lathrop,  and 
it  was  given  a  remarkable  production  and 
a  memorable  cast,  in  which  were,  among 
others,  Alexander  Salvini,  Marie  Burroughs, 
Minnie  Seligiman,  who  made   her  debut  in 


Annie  Russell,  91 

this  play,  and  E.  M.  Holland.  "Elaine/' 
however,  pictorial  as  it  was,  could  hardly  be 
called  a  success,  but  regarding  Miss  Russell's 
work  another  verdict  must  be  recorded. 
"  No  one  who  ever  saw  that  play,"  said  a 
Boston  critic,  "  needs  to  be  reminded  of  Miss 
Russell's  performance  of  the  title  r61e.  The 
word  exquisite  is  not  misapplied  in  speaking 
of  it.  Bostonians  had  in  their  imaginations 
an  ideal  of  the  appearance  of  Elaine,  inspired 
by  Rosenfeld's  painting,  but  his  Elaine  was 
much  less  spirituelle  than  the  one  that  Miss 
Russell  presented.  The  Elaine  of  the  painting 
was  a  robust,  healthy,  but  beautiful  creature. 
The  Elaine  of  Annie  Russell  was  the  ethe- 
real being  that  a  breath  might  have  blown 
away,  and  who  looked  as  if  she  might  indeed 
fade  away  to  death  as  her  heart  broke.  In 
no  part  that  Annie  Russell  ever  attempted 
was  she  so  completely  lost  as  in  Elaine.  It 
was  a  most  complete  and  harmonious,  a  most 
poetic  yet  real  performance.'* 


92  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

Miss  Russell  had  decided  opinions  about 
Elaine,  as,  indeed,  she  has  about  all  her 
characters.  When  asked  if  she  considered 
it  the  most  satisfactory  part  that  she  had 
ever  played,  she  answered : 

"  I  am  not  quite  sure  it  was.  I  never  felt 
absolutely  convinced  that  I  succeeded  in 
doing  what  I  hoped  to  with  the  part,  or  all 
X  that  could  be  done.  h.  tried  to  avoid  what  is 
'  usually  called  'acting,'  and  to  impersonate 
Elaine,  if  you  understand  what  I  mean.  I 
wanted  to  live,  move,  breathe  the  part,  —  to 
be,  in  fact,  Elaine.  I  was  convinced  that  the 
simpler  I  was  in  such  a  role  the  more  artis- 
tic I  would  be.  But  I  was  never  wholly 
satisfied.  To  me  there  were  always  touches 
in  it  that  seemed  theatrical.  But  then,  I  am 
my  own  most  severe  critic,  and  the  moments 
of  elation  in  which  one  feels  an  inward  con- 
viction that  one  has  been  right  and  achieved 
worthily  what  one  wished,  moments  which 
all  players  must  have,  come  very  rarely  to 


Annie  Russell,  93 

me.  Yet  I  am  very  ambitious.  No  actress 
was  ever  more  anxious  to  have  things  to  do, 
parts  that  demand  something  of  me,  that  I 
can  think  out  and  then  give  Ufe  to  out  of 
myself.  But  such  opportunities,  I  need  not 
tell  you,  come  but  seldom  to  any  of  us."  / 

Miss  Russeirs  last  appearance  before  her 
retirement  from  the  stage  in  1889,  on 
account  of  ill  health,  was  in  "  Captain 
Swift,''  made  famous  in  London  by  Beer- 
bohm  Tree.  Five  years  of  pain  and  suffering 
followed,  and  for  a  long  time  it  was  not  ex- 
pected that  she  would  ever  act  again.  She 
recovered  her  health,  however,  and  1894 
returned  to  the  theatre,  presenting  first  a 
one-act  play  called  *'Lethe.''  Then  she  was 
seen  in  "The  New  Woman'*  and  "The 
Fatal  Card."  Then  she  became  Nat  Good- 
win's leading  lady,  appearing  as  Ruth  in 
"  Ambition,"  Ada  Ingot  in  "  David  Gar- 
rick,"  and  in  "The  Gilded  Fool."  The  fol- 
lowing year  she  produced  the  one-act  play, 


94  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

"Dangerfield,  '95,"  which  made  a  great  hit, 
and  starred  in  "  Sue/'  a  Bret  Harte  drama  of 
sentiment,  which  was  also  very  successful. 
These  two  plays  she  took  to  London  in  the 
spring  of  1898,  and  both  were  kindly  received. 
Miss  RusselFs  account  of  her  London  ex- 
periences is  amusing  : 

"  I  arrived  in  England  Saturday  and  made 
my  London  debut  the  following  Thursday. 
In  between  I  came  to  the  realisation  that  I 
was  to  be  the  last  straw.  Every  one  told 
me  there  had  been  so  many  American  actors, 
—  that,  in  fact,  the  English  were  antagonistic 
to  this  continuous  American  invasion,  —  and 
here  was  I,  the  final  blow !  Then,  to  add 
to  my  discomfort,  —  my  terror,  —  I  had  made 
a  tour  of  the  London  theatres.  I  was  to 
appear  in  <Dangerfield,  '95.*  In  London, 
one-act  plays  are  literally  curtain  raisers. 
No  one  thinks  of  paying  any  attention.  I 
had  made  up  my  mind  to  be  a  failure  when 
I  stepped  on  the  stage.     It  slanted  like  the 


Annie  Russell.  95 

stages  of  the  olden  time.  It  was  old  and 
had  little  ridges  over  it.  Before  the  curtain 
went  up  I  could  hear  the  pit  making  remarks. 
They  talked  about  American  cheek.  I  ap- 
peared, and  —  well,  the  next  day  I  knew  I 
was  a  success.  It  was  after  seeing  *  Sue  * 
that  they  called  me  *the  Duse  of  the  EngHsh- 
speaking  stage.'  Am  I  proud  of  that }  Well, 
rather.  They  said,  too,  that  I  had  only  a 
very  slight  American  accent. 

"The  last  night,"  continued  Miss  Russell, 
"  I  made  a  speech,  my  first  and  only  one,  and 
I  was  so  overcome  that  I  couldn't  finish  it. 
They  called  me  out  six  times.  They  shouted 
and  cheered.  They  cried,  *  Come  back  ! ' 
And  then  I  said  —  well,  I  don't  know  what 
I  said,  except  that  I'd  never  made  a  speech 
before  and  didn't  know  how." 

Last  season  Miss  Russell  appeared  in 
Henri  Lavedan's  **  Catherine,"  being  a  mem- 
ber of,  rather  than  a  star  in,  the  most  perfectly 
balanced  cast  seen  for  many  a  year  in  an 


96  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

American  theatre.  Miss  Russell's  Catherine 
was  a  splendid  conception,  wonderfully  finely 
drawn  ;  a  girl,  quiet,  shy,  and  gentle,  pictured 
with  humour  inexpressibly  delicate,  with  the 
quintessence  of  refinement  and  with  pathos 
profoundly  moving ;  later,  a  woman  of  flint- 
like stability  of  purpose,  of  independence, 
pride,  and  resolution.  The  successful  produc- 
tion of  such  a  work  as  "Catherine"  was 
a  notable  event.  Although  the  product  of 
a  French  author,  the  drama  had  the  un- 
usual merit  of  being  a  world  play ;  that  is  to 
say,  its  theme  is  unrestricted  in  its  applica- 
tion to  human  life.  In  any  land  where  there 
is  social  intercourse,  among  any  people  where 
there  is  wealth  and  where  there  is  poverty, 
"  Catherine  **  would  be  understood.  Yet  the 
story,  which  is  simply  that  of  a  nobleman's 
marriage  to  a  poor  music  teacher,  and  of  the 
misunderstandings  and  unhappiness  that  re- 
sult from  that  marriage,  is  treated  entirely 
from  a  Gallic  standpoint.     The  plot  is  trite. 


Annie  Russell.  97 

to  be  sure,  but  it  is  true  to  life.  The  action 
is  quiet  but  realistic,  and  the  characters  are 
drawn  with  remarkable  fidelity  to  nature 
It  is  a  regrettable  fact  that  the  last  act  of 
the  play  is  weak,  due  largely  to  the  fact  that 
the  question  of  caste,  which  the  playwright 
raises,  admits  of  no  general  answer.  The 
drama  is  unique  in  that  it  presents  a  heroine 
with  whom  the  majority  of  the  audience  is 
not  in  sympathy.  The  character  of  Catherine 
is  also  somewhat  colourless,  besides  being  de- 
void of  startling  contrasts,  conditions  that 
make  all  the  more  praiseworthy  Miss  Rus-  > 
seirs  convincing  acting.  ^^ / 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

ISABEL    IRVING. 

When  Isabel  Irving  played  in  London  with 
Augustin  Daly's  company  several  seasons 
ago,  she  was  dubbed  "a  dainty  rogue  in 
porcelain,"  and  one  might  search  for  a  long 
time,  and  then  not  find  a  phrase  that  so 
accurately  describes  the  impression  made 
upon  one  by  the  actress's  naive  personality 
and  her  ingenuous  and  delicately  artificial 
method  of  dramatic  expression.  On  the 
stage  she  never  suggests  any  great  depth 
or  underlying  force  of  character,  and  she 
could  never  successfully  impersonate  a  char- 
acter calling  for  passion  or  grief.  Her  dis- 
position is  sunshiny  and  bright ;  she  is  a 
child  of   joy  and  innocent   pleasure,    whose 


ISABELLE   IRVING 


Isabel  Irving,  90 

nature  would  instinctively  shrink  from  pain, 
and  whom  suffering  would  kill.  One  sees 
in  her  face  —  a  face  that  one  instantly  calls 
pretty,  as  distinguished  from  handsome  — 
refinement  and  youthful  interest. 

"It  is  the  spring  violet  order  of  beauty, 
frank,  delicate,  and  innocent,'*  declared  C. 
M.  S.  McLellan.  "  It  lacks  dramatic  lumi- 
nousness,  is  more  suffused  with  tender  sur- 
prise than  kindled  with  fiery  emotions.  Miss 
Irving  looks  always  as  if  she  had  been 
startled,  but  only  by  a  noise,  not  by  a  vul- 
garity. She  scarcely  suggests  art.  She 
suggests  gleams  and  visions.  Instead  of 
sustaining  a  theatric  situation,  she  sustains 
the  purple  bloom  of  youth's  delicious 
fancies.'* 

I  can  imagine  no  r61e  more  fitted  to  Miss'\i  \  ^ 
Irving' s  peculiar  temperament  than  that  of  J 
Lady  Jessica,  which    she  acted  last   season 
with  John  Drew's  company  in  Henry  Arthur 
Jones's  satirical  comedy,  "The  Liars.*'     The 


lOO        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

character  was  that  of  a  butterfly  of  fashion 
married  to  a  Londoner  of  somewhat  prosaic 
notions.  Finding  her  home  Ufe  a  little  dull 
and  monotonous,  and  her  husband  more 
practical  than  romantic,  Lady  Jessica  en- 
tangled herself  in  an  audacious  flirtation  with 
a  passionate  African  explorer,  whom  nothing 
would  satisfy  short  of  an  elopement  and 
an  idyllic  existence  in  some  far-away  place 
where  they  two  should  be  the  whole  world. 
Frightened  at  his  impetuosity  and  at  the 
results  of  her  own  naughtiness,  the  little 
woman  wrung  her  hands  helplessly,  and 
finally  solved  the  problem  by  shifting  the 
burden  of  responsibility  for  her  salvation  on 
the  shoulders  of  her  friends.  Freed  from 
the  idea  that  she  must  do  something  for 
herself,  the  frivolous  wife  recovered  her 
natural  gaiety  of  manner,  while  she  regarded 
with  complacency  the  efforts  of  others  to 
ward  off  a  public  scandal.  Occasionally,  she 
interested   herself   enough   in   the  affair  to 


Isabel  Irving.  ioi 

offer  advice,  which  was  ridiculously  foolish 
and  vexatiously  inadequate.  Miss  Irving 
acted  the  part  deliciously,  and  without  appar- 
ent effort  made  Lady  Jessica  so  delightful 
and  fascinating  that  one  could  not  help 
loving  her,  even  at  the  moments  when  he 
most  of  all  wanted  to  box  her  ears,  and  send 
her  supperless  to  bed. 

Miss  Irving  was  born  in  Bridgeport, 
Conn.,  and  before  she  went  on  the  stage, 
just  after  she  left  school,  she  had  never  even 
so  much  as  acted  in  private  theatricals. 
Her  first  engagement  was  with  Rosina 
Voices,  and  her  d6but  was  made  at  the 
Standard  Theatre,  New  York,  in  February, 
1887,  as  Ermyntrude  Johnson  in  Pinero's 
farce,  "  The  School  Mistress."  Later  she 
was  given  the  part  of  Gwendolin  Hawkins 
in  the  same  play.  During  her  next  season 
with  Miss  Yokes  she  acted  such  roles  as 
the  maid  Perkins  in  "A  Double  Lesson,*' 
Miss  Violet  in  "A  Pantomine  Rehearsal," 


I02         Famotis  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

Rose  Dalrymple  in  "  In  Honour  Bound,"  and 
Edith  Leslie  in  "The  Widow's  Device." 
In  spite  of  the  fact  that  Miss  Irving  was 
absolutely  ignorant  of  stage  requirements 
when  she  became  a  member  of  Miss  Vokes's 
company,  she  is  said  to  have  played  her  first 
part  at  short  notice.  She  undoubtedly  owes 
much  of  her  success  to  Miss  Yokes,  who 
was  not  only  an  admirable  stage  director, 
but  also  a  woman  whose  very  personality 
inspired  confidence  and  afforded  encourage- 
ment. 

In  the  fall  of  1888  Miss  Irving  joined 
the  Daly  company,  with  which  she  was  con- 
nected six  years,  in  that  time  visiting  Eng- 
land three  times  with  the  organisation.  She 
also  accompanied  the  Daly  players  to  Paris, 
where  she  acted  one  week,  appearing  in  Ada 
Rehan's  part  in  "The  Lottery  of  Love," 
at  the  Vaudeville  Theatre,  where  this  play 
was  originally  produced  in  French  as  "  Les 
Surprises  du   Divorce."     Some  of  her  best 


Isabel  Irving,  103 

known  characters  while  with  Mr.  Daly  were 
Audrey  in  "As  You  Like  It,"  Oberon  in 
"A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream,"  Helen  in 
"The  Hunchback,"  and  the  juvenile  comedy 
parts  in  "  Nancy  &  Co.,"  "  Railroad  of  Love," 
"  A  Night  Off,"  and  "  The  Orient  Express." 
In  the  middle  of  the  London  engagement 
of  1894  Miss  Irving  resigned  her  position 
in  the  Daly  company,  and  that  fall  she  was 
engaged  by  Daniel  Frohman  to  play  Lady 
Noeline  in  "The  Amazons,"  in  one  of  his 
road  companies.  Soon  after,  when  Georgia 
Cayvan  retired  from  the  Lyceum  Theatre 
Company,  Miss  Irving  succeeded  her  as 
leading  lady,  appearing  first  as  Dorothea 
March  in  Sardou's  play,  "A  Woman's 
Silence."  For  the  last  two  seasons  she  has 
been  with  John  Drew,  whose  chief  support 
she  became  when  Maude  Adams  left  his 
company. 


r\ 


CHAPTER   IX. 

MAXINE    ELLIOTT. 

Maxine  Elliott  began  her  theatrical 
career  as  a  stage  beauty.  Unmistakably 
a  brunette,  with  hair  and  eyes  of  inky 
blackness,  '^  she  had  none  of  the  warmth 
that  is  associated  with  the  brunette  type. ' 
She  was  a  New  Englander  by  birth,  and  a 
New  Englander  in  spirit,  and  in  those  early 
days  she  exhibited  in  abundance  all  the  cold- 
ness and  indifference  of  an  unsympathetic 
temperament  so  often  characteristic  of  the 
descendants  from  Puritan  ancestry.  Stat- 
uesque described  her  exactly.  A  face  and 
a  figure  chiselled  in  marble  by  a  master 
hand  could  have  been  no  more  perfect  than 

were  hers,  nor  could  they  have  been  more 
104 


MAXINE    ELLIOTT 
As  Alice  Adams  in  "  Nathan  Hale  " 


Maxine  Elliott,  105 

expressive  of  self-centred  and  self-possessed 
dignity ;  neither  would  the  marble  image 
have  conveyed  any  more  surely  the  sense 
of  inanimateness  than  did  the  living  woman. 
For,  while  there  was  physical  perfection  in 
the  first  Maxine  Elliott,  and  classic  beauty 
in  those  features,  clear-cut  as  a  cameo, 
nowhere  was  there  aught  to  indicate  human 
sympathy.  Her  acting,  too,  was  chaste  and 
formal,  without  inspiration,  without  convic- 
tion, and  without  colour.  Her  temperament 
appeared  dramatically  sterile,  and  its  cold- 
ness and  reserve  seemed  to  partake  of  the 
barrenness  and  bleakness  of  her  native 
wintry  State  of  Maine. 
^•The  New  Englander  is  naturally  not  an 
actor,  chiefly  because  of  the  New  England 
conscience,  which  is  a  genuine  handicap, 
even  to  those  that  have  wandered  far  from 
the  paths  of  correct  living  and  truth,  as 
marked  out  by  the  fathers.  The  New  England 
conscience,  as  you  would  know  if  you  had 


Ar 


V 


1 06        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

one,  is  a  tragic  reality,  which,  with  smirk- 
ing hypocrisy,  and  under  false  pretences, 
has  for  over  two  centuries  been  mercilessly 
throttling  all  the  pleasures  in  life  that  it 
could  get  its  hands  on.  It  is  not  a  con- 
science like  those  that  the  little  boys  and 
girls  have  whose  lives  make  such  interesting 
and  instructive  reading  for  Sunday  school 
scholars ;  it  is  not  a  voice  that  wakes  chil- 
dren, usually  between  midnight  and  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  tells  them  what 
is  good  and  what  is  evil.  The  New  Eng- 
land conscience  does  not  talk  much,  and  its 
instinctive  judgments  are  generally  so  silly 
that  they  do  very  little  harm.  What,  it 
does  persistently  provoke,  however,  is  in- 
voluntary and  undesirable  self-examination, 
which  in  turn  leads  to  exasperating  self- 
sciousness.  Self-consciousness  breeds  reserve 
and  the  accompanying  suppression  of  all 
outward  expression  of  the  emotions.  Here 
you  have  the  explanation  of  the  New  Eng- 


Maxine  Elliott  107 

lander's  coldness.  Moreover,  emotion,  con- 
stantly suppressed,  does  not  develop.  That 
is  the  reason  for  the  New  Englander's  lack 
of  sympathy.  In  a  person  without  warmth, 
without  sympathy,  and  without  emotional 
activity,  one  can  hardly  expect  to  find  the 
dramatic  temperament.  And  Maxine  Elliott 
was  a  typical  New  Englander  when  she 
went  on  the  stage. 

Xhen  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  she 
changed  in  a  most  astonishing  and  com- 
plete fashion.  ^The  grovelling  worm  became 
a  beautiful  butterfly.^  The  emotionally  un- 
responsive being  somehow  or  other  shook 
off  the  plethora  of  the  New  England  con- 
science, and  bloomed  forth  into  glorious 
womanhood.  She  stopped  posing,  for  she 
knew  how  to  act  ;  she  acquired  spontaneity, 
passion,  and  sincerity  ;  most  wonderful  of  all, 
she  developed  a  touch  of  humour.  Her 
beauty,  more  fascinating  than  ever  in  its 
animated  loveliness,   lost  its  statuesque  un- 


io8         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

reality  and  immobility,  and  became  human. 
Miss  Elliott  is  not  the  first  actress  to  be 
developed  from  apparently  unpromising  mate- 
rial, and  the  mystery  in  her  case  comes 
from  the  amazing  abruptness  of  the  change. 
Her  growth  first  became  overwhelmingly  evi- 
dent last  season  in  her  impersonation  of 
Alice  Adams,  in  **  Nathan  Hale."  This  was 
a  curious  play,  embracing  farce,  tragedy, 
comedy,  and  melodrama,  whose  merits  were 
absurdly  overrated.  It  was  very  well  acted, 
and  its  patriotic  sentiments  made  it  go  with 
its  audiences.  Miss  Elliott's  role  was  quite 
the  dominating  feature,  and  she  was  by  far 
the  most  interesting  person  on  the  stage. 
This  was  due  to  the  fact  that  she  was 
positive  in  speech  and  action,  while  Mr. 
Goodwin's  Nathan  Hale  was  largely  nega- 
tive, a  character  that  was  continually  being 
acted  upon,  and  which  almost  never  took  the 
initiative.  Miss  Elliott's  love-making  and 
coquetry  in  the  early  acts  of  the  play  were 


Maxine  Elliott,  109 

delightful.  Her  playing  of  the  parting  scene 
with  Hale,  after  he  had  volunteered  as  a 
spy,  was  especially  strong,  and  the  difference 
between  the  three  varieties  of  pathos  —  the 
unsuccessful  plea,  the  resentful  pride  that 
followed  failure,  and  the  despair  when  she 
was  left  alone  —  was  finely  indicated  and 
forcibly  presented.  The  sobbing  farewell  just 
before  Hale's  death,  in  which  no  word  was 
spoken,  was  a  masterly  pantomimic  triumph. 
Miss  Elliott  was  born  in  Rockland,  Maine, 
and  was  educated  in  the  Notre  Dame  Acad- 
emy in  Roxbury,  Massachusetts.  After  she 
finished  school  she  went  with  her  father, 
who  was  a  sea-captain,  on  a  voyage  to  South 
America  and  Spain.  When  she  returned, 
she  started  for  New  York,  determined  to  go 
on  the  stage.  She  was  then  about  sixteen 
years  old,  and  apparently  stage-struck  to  the 
very  last  degree.  She  wanted  a  career,  she 
said,  and  she  wished  to  be  independent.  The 
best  she  could  do  at  first  was  to  fill  a  think- 


no        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

ing  part  in  A.  M.  Palmer's  company  ;  to  put 
it  plainly,  she  was  a  "supe/*  Then  her 
beauty  got  her  an  engagement  with  T. 
Henry  French  to  appear  as  an  Oriental  houri 
or  something  like  that  in  <*  The  Voyage  de 
Suzette."  This  spectacle  was  a  dreadful 
failure. 

Her  serious  dramatic  work  began  when 
she  became  a  member  of  E.  S.  Willard's 
company  in  1 890,  during  the  English  actor's 
first  tour  of  this  country.  Her  first  role  was 
Felica  Umfraville  in  "  The  Middleman,"  and 
she  also  played  Virginia  Fleetwood  in  "John 
Needham's  Double.''  The  next  season  she 
remained  with  Willard,  and  was  advanced  a 
peg,  being  given  the  part  of  Beatrice  Selwyn 
in  <*A  Fool's  Paradise,"  and  later,  that  of 
Lady  Gilding  in  "The  Professor's  Love 
Story."  In  the  spring  of  1893,  she  was  the 
original  Violet  Woodman  in  "The  Prodigal 
Daughter,"  when  that  play  was  produced  at 
the  American  Theatre  in  New  York.     The 


Maxine  Elliott,  III 

following  spring  she  was  the  Kate  Malcolm 
in  "  Sister  Mary "  with  Julia  Arthur,  and 
then  she  joined  Rose  Coghlan,  appearing  as 
Dora  in  "  Diplomacy,"  Grace  Harkaway  in 
"  London  Assurance,"  Alice  Varney  in  "  For- 
get-Me-Not,"  and  Mrs.  Allenby  in  **  A  Woman 
of  No  Importance." 

While  a  member  of  Augustin  Daly's  com- 
pany, with  which  she  became  connected  after 
leaving  Miss  Coghlan,  Miss  Elliott  improved 
much  in  finesse  and  in  stage  deportment. 
She  went  with  the  company  to  London  in 
189s,  which  was  her  first  appearance  in  that 
city,  and  her  marvellous  beauty  attracted  any 
amount  of  attention.  Miss  Elliott  made  her 
ddbut  at  Daly's  in  the  title  role  of  "  A  Heart 
of  Ruby."  She  also  appeared  in  "The 
Orient  Express,"  "A  Bundle  of  Lies,"  and 
"  A  Tragedy  Rehearsal."  Her  first  Shake- 
spearian part  was  Silvia  in  "  Two  Gentlemen 
of  Verona,"  and  her  other  Shakespearian 
rdles  were  Hermia  in  "  A  Midsummer  Night's 


112        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

Dream''  and  Olivia  in  "Twelfth  Night/' 
After  closing  with  Daly,  Miss  Elliott  played 
a  summer  engagement  with  the  Daniel  Fraw- 
(N^  ley  company  in  San  Francisco.  When  Nat 
Goodwin,  whose  wife  she  now  is,  returned 
from  Australia  in  1896,  she  joined  his  com- 
pany and  since  that  time  she  has  continued 
to  be  Mr.  Goodwin's  leading  lady.  At  the 
end  of  last  season  she  went  with  him  to 
^  London,  appearing  in  "  The  Cowboy  and  the 

f"**^        Lady"  and  "  An  American  Citizen." 


Copyright,  1897,  by  Aime  Dupont,  N.  Y, 

ADA   REHAN 
As  Beatrice  in  "  Much  Ado  About  Nothing  " 


CHAPTER   X. 

ADA    RERAN. 

After  a  quarter-century  on  the  stage, 
during  which  time  she  has  played  over  150 
parts,  Ada  Rehan  is  to-day,  as,  in  fact,  she 
has  been  for  the  past  ten  years,  America's 
representative  actress.  Not  only  have  her 
exceptional  and  versatile  talents  afforded 
pleasure  to  thousands  of  theatre-goers  on 
this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  but  she  is  equally 
well  known  abroad,  where  her  fine  art  and 
graceful  personality  are  held  in  the  highest 
esteem.  Beginning  at  the  bottom  of  the 
histrionic  ladder  and  climbing  upward  by 
means  of  faithful  endeavour  and  increasing 
artistic  worth,  she  reached,  as  leading  lady 
of  Augustin  Daly's  company,  and  later  as 
"3 


114        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

star,  a  foremost  position  in  the  dramatic 
world,  a  position  which  she  has  retained 
through  an  ability  not  far  from  genius. 

Ada  Rehan  was  born  in  Limerick,  Ireland, 
April  22^  i860.  Her  family  name  is  Crehan, 
and  the  interesting  anecdote  is  told  that 
when  she  made  her  debut  on  the  stage  some 
blundering  printer  gave  her  the  name  on  the 
playbill  of  Ada  C.  Rehan.  She  liked  the 
change,  and  adopted  **  Rehan  ".  permanently. 
The  story  seems  likely  enough,  but  it  is 
probably  not  true.  Certain  it  is  that  she 
made  her  first  theatrical  ventures  as  a  Crehan, 
as  is  shown  by  an  old  playbill  of  the  Arch 
^Street  Theatre,  Philadelphia,  under  date  of 
\J^'  1874,  which  plainly  announces  her  as  Ada 
Crehan.  Miss  Rehan  was  brought  to  this 
country  when  she  was  five  years  old,  and 
her  childhood  was  passed  in  Brooklyn,  New 
York.  '"  Her  two  older  sisters,  one  Mrs. 
Oliver  Doud  Byron  and  the  other  Mrs.  R. 
Fulton  Russell,  known  to  the  playgoing  pu^ 


J^G'VvOk 


Ada  Rehan.  115 

lie  as  Miss  Hattie  Russell,  both  adopted  the 
dramatic  profession,  and  it  was  undoubtedly 
this  fact  that  turned  the  youngest  sister's 
steps  toward  the  theatre.  She  was  thirteen 
years  old  when  she  made  her  first  appear- 
ance, at  Newark,  New  Jersey,  in  Oliver 
Doud  Byron's  play,  **  Across  the  Continent," 
in  which  she  acted  Clara  for  one  night  only 
to  fill  a  vacancy  caused  by  a  performer's  ill- 
ness. Her  first  appearance  on  the  New  York 
stage  was  during  the  same  season  at  Wood's 
Museum,  where  she  played  with  Mr.  Byron's 
company  a  small  part  in  "  Thoroughbred." 

Her  first  regular  professional  engagement 
was  at  the  Arch  Street  Theatre,  Philadelphia, 
then  under  the  management  of  Mrs.  John 
Drew.  Miss  Rehan  became  a  member  of 
this  company  in  1873  and  remained  with  it 
for  three  seasons.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that 
in  the  company  at  the  time,  and  also  as  a 
beginner,  was  John  Drew,  who  for  so  many 
years  played  opposite  parts  to  Miss  Rehan 


1 1 6         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

in  Daly*s  Theatre.  Leaving  Philadelphia, 
she  acted  for  a  season  in  Macauley^s  Theatre, 
Louisville,  and  she  was  a  member  of  the 
company  when,  in  November,  1875,  Mary 
Anderson  made  her  first  appearance  on  any 
stage.  Miss  Rehan  was  then  for  two  years 
with   Xohn   W.^^, A  company,    acting 

sometimes  in  Albany,  New  York,  and  some- 
times in  Baltimore.  During  this  engage- 
ment she  Was  associated  with  such  stars  as 
Edwin  Booth,  Adelaide  Neilson,  and  John 
McCullough,  playing,  among  other  characters, 
Ophelia  to  Booth's  Hamlet  and  Queen  Anne 
and  Virginia  to  McCullough's  Richard  III. 
and  Virginius.  A  few  of  the  many  parts 
that  Miss  Rehan  played  in  these  early  times 
were:  Anne  Leigh,  "Enoch  Arden ; '*  Bar- 
bara Hare,  **East  Lynne;''  Bianca,  "Tam- 
ing of  the  Shrew;'*  Celia,  "As  You  Like 
It;''  Cordelia,  "King  Lear;"  Desdemona, 
"  Othello  ;  "  Esther  Eccles,  "  Caste  ; "  Grace 
Harkaway,     "  London    Assurance ; "     Lady 


Ada  Rehan.  117 

Florence,  "  Rosedale  ;  "  Little  Em'ly,  "  David 
Copperfield ; ''  Olivia,  "  Twelfth  Night ; '' 
Pauline,  "  Lady  of  Lyons ;  "  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, "Mary  Stuart;"  Ursula,  "Much 
Ado;''  Winnifred  Wood,  "Jack  Sheppard/' 

It  was  during  the  season  of  1878,  Miss 
Rehan' s  last  with  the  Albaugh  company, 
that  Augustin  Daly  first  saw  her.  His 
attention  was  again  called  to  her  in  April, 
1879,  while  she  was  playing  Mary  Standish 
in  "Pique"  with  Fanny  Davenport  at  the 
Grand  Opera  House,  New  York.  She  was 
engaged  by  Mr.  Daly  and  first  appeared  under 
his  management  at  the  Olympic  Theatre,  New 
York,  as  Big  Clemence  in  Daly's  version  of 
"  L'Assommoir."  The  story,  which  may  or 
may  not  be  true,  so  uncertain  are  theatrical 
anecdotes,  connected  with  this  engagement 
is  as  follows  :  Maude  Granger  and  Emily 
Rigl  played  two  leading  parts  in  "  L'Assom- 
moir." There  was  a  scene  in  the  play  where 
they   threw   pails   of   water   at   each  other. 


1 1 8         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

The  two  actresses  were  great  rivals  theatri- 
cally, and  it  is  said  that  they  spitefully  threw 
the  water  in  each  other's  faces  instead  of  on 
their  skirts,  underneath  which  were  worn 
rubber  petticoats.  Of  course  both  denied  it, 
yet  the  circumstance  was  used  to  work  up 
some  advertising,  and  the  young  men  about 
town  would  take  in  that  one  scene  every 
evening  to  see  the  ** fight"  between  the 
pretty  washerwomen  of  "  L'Assommoir." 
Finally  Miss  Rigl  suddenly  withdrew  from 
the  company.  It  was  during  hot  summer 
weather,  and  Mr.  Daly,  not  caring  to 
increase  his  expenses,  looked  through  the 
company  to  take  out  one  of  the  female  super- 
numeraries to  fill  Miss  RigFs  place  for  the 
short  time  the  piece  was  to  run.  The  part 
was  called  Big  Clemence.  Now  it  so  hap- 
pened that  Ada  Rehan  was  playing  a  part  of 
a  few  lines.  She  was  tall  and  would  look 
the  part  of  Big  Clemence ;  so  she  had  it 
given  over  to  her  keeping. 


Ada  Rehan.  1 19 

On  September  17,  1879,  Augustin  Daly 
opened  his  theatre  on  the  present  site,  for- 
merly Wood's  Museum,  and  Miss  Rehan 
became  the  leading  woman,  appearing  for 
the  first  time  as  Nellie  Beers  in  **  Love's 
Young  Dream,''  which  was  played  with  Olive 
Logan's  play,  "  Newport,"  as  an  opening  bill. 
Two  weeks  later  "  Divorce  "  was  revived,  and 
Miss  Rehan  appeared  in  the  r61e  created  by 
Fanny  Davenport  six  years  before,  Lu  Ten 
Eyck. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  glance  at  the  parts 
that  Miss  Rehan  acted  during  her  years  as 
the  foremost  member  of  Mr.  Daly's  famous 
company  to  understand  what  is  meant  by  a 
thorough  artistic  training  and  to  realise  that 
the  actress's  unique  versatility  has  been 
honestly  acquired.  Among  her  impersona- 
tions have  been  Valentine  Osprey  in  "The 
Railroad  of  Love,"  Jo  in  "The  Lottery  of 
Lave,"  Xantippe  in  "The  Wife  of  Soc- 
rates," Tilburnia  in  "  Rehearsing  a  Tragedy," 


I20         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

Phronie  in  *' Dollars  and  Sense/'  Oriana  in 
"The  Inconstant,"  Kate  Verity  in  "The 
Squire,"  Doris  in  "An  International  Match," 
Katharine  in  "  The  Taming  of  the  Shrew," 
Audrey  Ollyphant  in  "  Samson  and  Delilah," 
Niobe  in  "A  Night  Off,"  Plos  in  "7-20-8," 
Tryphena  Magillicuddy  in  "  The  Golden 
Widow,"  Etna  in  "The  Great  Unknown," 
Rosalind  in  "As  You  Like  It,"  Donna 
Hypolita  in  "  She  Would  and  She  Wouldn't," 
Peggy  in  "The  Country  Girl,"  Dina  Fau- 
delle  in  "A  Priceless  Paragon,"  Mile.  Rose 
in  "The  Prayer,"  Helena  in  "A  Midsummer 
Night's  Dream,"  Miss  Hoyden  in  "Miss 
Hoyden's  Husband,"  Nancy  Brasher  in 
"Nancy  &  Co.,"  Elvira  Honiton  in  "New 
Lamps  for  Old,"  Baroness  Vera  von  Boiira- 
neff  in  "The  Last  Word,"  Lady  Teazle  in 
"The  School  for  Scandal,"  Pierrot  in  "The 
Prodigal  Son,"  the  Princess  of  France  in 
"  Love's  Labour  Lost,"  Aprilla  Dymond  in 
"Love  in  Tandem,"  Maid  Marian  in  "The 


Ada  Rehan,  121 

Foresters/'  Rena  Primrose  in  "  Little  Miss 
Million,"  Juno  Jessamine  in  "A  Test  Case/' 
Julia  in  "  The  Hunchback/'  Mockwood  in 
"The  Knave/'  Letitia  Hardy  in  "The 
Belle's  Stratagem/'  Viola  in  "  Twelfth  Night/' 
and  last  season  Roxane  in  Daly's  adaptation 
of  Rostand's  "  Cyrano  de  Bergerac  "  and  the 
London  jeweller's  wife  in  the  English  melo- 
drama, "The  Great  Ruby/* 

Miss  Rehan  first  played  in  London  in 
1884,  opening  at  Toole's  Theatre  on  July 
19th,  in  "7-20-8,  or  The  Casting  of  the 
Boomerang,"  the  production  of  which  was 
received  with  much  adverse  comment.  Since 
that  time  her  visits  abroad  have  been  many, 
and  the  Daly  company  may  be  said  to  have 
been  almost  as  much  at  home  in  England  as 
here.  The  second  London  engagement  in 
1886  of  nine  weeks  at  the  Strand  Theatre 
was  much  more  successful  than  the  first, 
Miss  Rehan  attracting  considerable  attention 
by  her  work  in  a  small  part  in  "  A  Night 


122         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

Off,"  and  afterward  by  her  acting  in  "  Nancy 
&  Co."  After  playing  in  London,  the  com- 
pany toured  the  English  provinces  and  then 
played  in  Germany  and  in  Paris,  which  re- 
ceived the  American  actors  with  great  cool- 
ness, due  as  much  as  anything  to  the  fact 
that  the  Frenchmen  could  not,  and,  indeed, 
did  not  care,  to  understand  the  foreign 
players. 

In  1888,  at  the  Gaiety  Theatre,  Miss 
Rehan  first  showed  the  Londoners  her  most 
brilliant  Shakespearian  character,  Katharine 
in  "The  Taming  of  the  Shrew,"  and  forth- 
with the  London  theatre-goers  accorded  her 
the  fullest  recognition  and  the  heartiest  sup- 
port. This  splendid  impression  was  height- 
ened when  she  occupied  Henry  Irving's 
.Lyceum  Theatre  during  the  summer  of 
^  1890,  presenting  "The  Daughter  of  Com- 
edy'* and  her  delightful  impersonation  of 
Rosalind  in  "As  You  Like  It.''  The  Lon- 
don   critics,    one    and    all,    enthusiastically 


Ada  Rehan.  123 

praised  this  beautiful  performance.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1 89 1,  Miss  Rehan  was  again  in 
London,  and  two  years  later  Mr.  Daly  real- 
ised his  ambition  to  become  a  London 
manager.  Daly's  Theatre  was  opened  June 
27,  1893,  with  Miss  Rehan  as  Katharine. 
During  her  tours  of  England  Miss  Rehan 
has  played  in  Dublin,  Glasgow,  Edinburgh, 
and  in  the  Shakespeare  Memorial  Theatre 
at  Stratford-on-Avon.  In  1894  she  became 
a  star,  supported  by  Mr.  Daly's  company, 
although  the  change  was  merely  a  formal 
announcement  of  a  fact  that  had  long  been 
accepted  by  the  public. 

Ada  Rehan  is  a  superb  comedy  actress, 
equally  at  home  as  the  hoydenish,  mutinous, 
and  mischievous  Peggy  Thrift  in  "The 
Country  Girl,"  as  the  delicately  humorous 
and  quietly  pathetic  Viola  in  "Twelfth 
Night,"  as  the  vivacious  and  womanly  Lady 
Teazle  in  "  The  School  for  Scandal,"  and  in 
the  many  light  comedy  r61es  in  the  adapta- 


124         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

tions  from  the  German  that  were  such  promi- 
nent features  of  the  Daly  repertory  in  the 
eighties.  'Gifted  with  a  voice  of  rare  musical 
charm,  a  stage  presence  that  is  both  gracious 
and  dignified,  a  radiant  individuality,  and  a 
fine  sense  of  humour,  she  is  especially  suc- 
cessful in  characters  that  mingle  fun  with 
sentiment  and  require  buoyancy  of  spirits 
without  coarseness.  She  has  uncommon 
eloquence  in  the  expression  of  woe,  and 
she  often  deeply  moves  her  audiences  with 
the  wealth  of  her  emotion.  'Her  pathos 
is  simple  and  true  and  is  conveyed  with 
artistic  subtil ty.  Her  tragic  powers  have 
not  been  tested  of  late  years,  though  it  is 
by  no  means  certain  that  tragedy  is  beyond 
her  range. 


i 

A 
1 

i 

i 

1 

VIRGINIA    HARNED 
As  Julie  in  "  An  Enemy  to  the  King ' 


CHAPTER   XL 

VIRGINIA    HARNED. 

Virginia  Harned  was  the  creator  in  this 
country  of  the  character  of  Drusilla  Ives  in 
Henry  Arthur  Jones's  sensational  comedy,  (jP  ^ 
"  The  Dancing  Girl ; "  she  was  also  the 
original  Trilby  in  Paul  Potter's  dramatisa- 
tion of  George  Du  Maurier's  novel,  which 
was  produced  in  Boston  in  1895  ;  and  she 
created  the  r61e  of  Lady  Ursula  in  Anthony 
Hope's  romantic  comedy,  "The  Adventure 
of  Lady  Ursula,"  when  that  drama  was 
originally  acted  at  the  Broad  Street  The- 
atre, Philadelphia,  on  December  6,  1897. 
These  are  her  three  best  parts,  and  their 
wide  variance  shows  conclusively  her  ver- 
satility as  a  comedy  actress.  Physically, 
125 


126         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

Miss  Harned,  who,  as  is  well  known,  js 
not  Miss  Harned  at  all,  but  Mrs.  E.  H. 
Sothern,  the  wife  of  the  popular  star,  is  a 
buxom  young  woman,  whose  bracing  and 
frank  personality  carries  with  it  exuber- 
ance of  spirits,  life,  freedom,  and  happiness. 
Her  dramatic  temperament  is  sumptuous, 
warm,  and  full  of  colour,  suggesting  volup- 
tuous ease,  love  of  pleasure,  and  a  fondness 
for  luxurious  refinement.  There  is  nothing 
spirituelle  about  her ;  her  stage  presence  is 
distinctly  material  and  very  much  of  the 
world ;  she  seems  a  woman  with  a  streak  of 
Bohemia  in  her  make-up,  whose  heart  is  as 
true  as  steel  and  whose  sympathy  is  easily 
aroused  and  bountifully  expended. 

Such  a  personality  and  temperament  fitted 
admirably  the  personality  and  temperament 
of  Drusilla  Ives,  the  wilful  daughter  of. 
Quaker  parents,  whose  craving  for  gaiety 
and  for  the  bustle  of  worldliness  drew  her 
from  the  safe  confines  of  her  quiet  home 


Virginia  Harned.  127 

into  an  environment  of  sin  and  wickedness/ 
Her  whirlwind  of  pleasure  soon  brought 
sorrow,  shame,  and  despair.  It  was  a  com- 
mon enough  story,  of  course.  But  it  is 
the  common  enough  stories  that  keep  a 
permanent  hold  on  human  interest.  Dru- 
silla  Ives  was  practically  the  star  part  of 
the  play,  through  which  Miss  Harned  moved 
with  sensuous  charm,  an  insinuating  smile, 
an  enticing  voice,  and  a  fascinating  grace, 
thoroughly  characteristic ;  for  Drusilla  was 
sensuous  in  look  and  act ;  she  had  all  the 
fascinations  of  a  beautiful  woman  who  was 
purposely  a  temptress  and  who  delighted  in 
being  a  temptress^  Some  one  called  Drusilla 
brazen.  If  he  meant  that  she  was  brazen  as 
Miss  Harned  portrayed  her,  I  cannot  agree 
with  him.  There  was  an  undercurrent , 
of  sorrow  in  the  impersonation,  a  touch  of 
regret  and  of  conscience-stricken  remorse, 
sentiments  unconsciously  conveyed  by  the 
actress,  perhaps,  that   always    strongly  im- 


128         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

pressed  upon  me  the  pathos  of  Drusilla 
Ives's  experience.  }  Miss  Harned's  concep- 
tion did  not  suggest  to  me  a  woman  totally 
depraved.  The  actress  constantly  reminded 
one  that  Drusilla  was,  after  all,  only  a  girl, 
country-bred  and  ignorant  or  unappreciative 
of  the  consequences  of  evil,  whose  reckless- 
ness was  at  first  but  another  name  for  the 
unenlightened  innocence  of  a  person  naturally 
pleasure-loving  and  impatient  of  restraint. 

Miss  Harned's  Trilby  was  probably  a  more 
artistic  performance  than  her  Drusilla  Ives ; 
it  was  more  of  an  impersonation,  for,  if  we 
except  the  Bohemian  quirk  in  her  tempera- 
ment. Miss  Harned  did  not  in  the  least  sug- 
gest the  statuesque  Trilby.  Du  Maurier 
described  his  heroine  with  the  greatest  care. 
"  She  was  one  of  the  tallest  of  her  sex,"  he 
wrote,  and  again,  "Not  a  giantess  by  any 
means.  She  was  as  tall  as  Miss  Ellen  Terry, 
and  that  is  a  charming  height,  I  think."  Now, 
Miss  Harned  could  not  reach  that  height  by 


Virginia  Harned,  129 

several  inches,  but  she  had  the  advantage  of 
suggesting  physical  perfection,  which  from 
the  viewpoint  of  the  stage,  where  a  few 
inches  more  or  less  do  not  count  for  much, 
was  of  greater  importance.  However,  it 
was  a  sympathetic  spirit  with  which  she 
regarded  Trilby,  and  the  fine  art  by  means 
of  which  she  gave  life  to  her  conception,  that 
won  for  her  a  great  success  and  fixed  the 
pattern  that  the  many  later  Trilby s  were 
compelled  to  follow. 

<^I  do  not  think  Trilby  was  a  bad  girl,'0 
Miss  Harned  answered,  when  asked  her 
opinion  of  the  character.  "  How  can  a 
woman  who  has  never  associated  with  pure 
women  know  that  she  is  not  good }  I  am 
not  upholding  the  sort  of  life  that  Trilby 
led  before  she  made  friends  with  the  trio, 
only  saying  that  she  really  had  not  stopped 
to  think;  no  one  had  made  her,  so  why 
should  she  be  blamed }  It  was  all  so  differ- 
ent to  her  afterward.     Surely,  one  must  be 


130        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

very  narrow-minded  to  think  that  Trilby  was 
a  bad  girl/' 

Lady  Ursula  was  a  r61e  entirely  different 
from  either  Drusilla  Ives  or  Trilby.  It  was 
a  fanciful  character,  full  of  obstinate  feminin- 
ity and  replete  with  the  charm  of  fun-loving 
girlhood.  There  was  later  a  delicious  touch 
of  sentiment,  when  the  woman,  proud  and 
independent,  surrendered  herself  to  the  man 
she  loved.  Miss  Harned's  acting  was  dainty 
and  full  of  spirit.  The  comedy  in  the  duel 
scene  was  well  conveyed,  though  here  and 
there  one  became  conscious  of  a  touch  of 
artificiality  that  somewhat  marred  the  pic- 
ture. This  fault  was  hardly  prominent 
enough,  however,  seriously  to  affect  the 
general  excellence  of  the  personation. 
Ik  Virginia  Harned  first  saw  the  light  of  day 
^t -- th  Boston,  but  her  parents  left  that  city  when 
she  was  a  baby,  and  she  does  not  know  even 
the  name  of  the  street  on  which  she  was 
born.     Previous  to  going  on  the  stage  she 


Virginia  Harned,  13  i 

lived  abroad  for  many  years,  in  England  and 
on  the  Continent.  Her  early  theatrical  ex- 
periences were  with  road  companies,  her 
first  engagement  having  been  with  a  com- 
pany playing  Robson  and  Crane's  old  suc- 
cess, "  Our  Boarding  House."  In  the 
spring  of  1887  she  was  the  leading  lady 
with  George  Clarke  of  the  Daly  Company, 
when  he  toured  New  England  for  a  few 
weeks  in  "  The  Corsican  Brothers  '*  and 
"  False  Shame.*'  The  experiment  ended  in 
financial  disaster.  For  two  years  she  acted, 
throughout  the  South  and  West,  Liobe  in 
"A  Night  Off,"  the  part  that  Ada  Rehan 
made  famous.  Then  she  started  out  with 
Harry  Lacy  in  "The  Still  Alarm,"  but  be- 
came involved  in  a  legal  controversy  with  the 
management  before  the  season  was  ended. 
Her  first  New  York  engagement  followed  in 
Sedley  Brown's  "  A  Long  Lane,"  at  the 
Fourteenth  Street  Theatre,  after  which  she 
joined  Louis  Aldrich's  company,  playing  the 


13^        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

comedy  part  of  Florence  Fetherley  in  "  The 
Editor."  While  she  was  with  Mr.  Aldrich 
Daniel  Frohman  saw,  her  act  and  engaged 
her  as  E.  H.  Sothern's  leading  lady.  Her 
first  character  with  Mr.  Sothern  was  Clara 
Dexter  in  "The  Maister  of  Woodbarrow." 

"You  have  no  idea,"  said  Miss  Harned, 
recalling  that  time,  "  what  a  slip  of  a  girl  I 
was  then,  and  so  thin  and  unimportant  look- 
ing.* I  had  broad  enough  shoulders  and  a 
full  neck  and  chest,  but  otherwise  my  dresses 
were  full  of  pads  to  give  my  figure  some  sort 
of  maturity  and  weight.  I  came  across  one 
of  the  dresses  I  wore  that  season,  when  look- 
ing over  a  trunk  the  other  day,  and  I  was 
amazed  at  it.  Why,  even  when  I  first  played 
with  Mr.  Sothern  in  '  The  Maister  of  Wood- 
barrow  '  my  gowns  were  all  padded.'' 

During  her  first  connection  with  Mr. 
Sothern  Miss  Harned  appeared  in  "Lord 
Chumley,''  "The  Dancing  Girl,"  and  as 
Fanny  in   "  Captain   Lettarblair."     Leaving 


Virginia  Harned,  133 

Daniel  Frohman*s  management,  she  joined 
A.  M.  Palmer's  stock  company,  scoring  her 
first  success  as  Mrs.  Erlynne  in  "  Lady  Win- 
dermere's Fan,"  and  afterward  acting  such 
rdles  as  Letty  Fletcher  in  "  Saints  and  Sin- 
ners," and  Mrs.  Sylvester  in  "The  New 
Woman."  Her  creation  of  Trilby  followed, 
after  which  she  rejoined  Mr.  Sothern,  with 
whom  she  has  acted  off  and  on  ever  since, 
appearing  in  "  Lady  Ursula,"  **  The  Lady  of 
Lyons,"  and  "  A  Colonial  Girl,"  when  that 
play  was  produced  in  Philadelphia  in  August, 
1898,  under  the  name  of  **A  Shilling's 
Worth." 


CHAPTER   XIL 


VIOLA    ALLEN. 


Viola  Allen  has  been  a  star  just  one 
season,  and  she  is  accounted  one  of  the  most 
fortunate  actresses  before  the  public.  The 
play  in  which  she  appeared  last  season, — 
Hall  Caine^s  dramatisation  of  his  own  novel 
(*.'  The  Christian,"  —  while  far  from  being 
high  art,  strongly  appealed  to  the  popular 
fancy,  and  the  result  was  big  houses  and 
great  financial  prosperity.  The  best  sum- 
ming up  of  "  The  Christian  '*  that  I  ever 
heard  was  made  by  Henry  Jewett,  who 
played  John  Storm  during  the  run  of  the 
drama  in  Boston.  "There's  lots  of  bun- 
combe in  it,''  he  said,  "lots  of  buncombe." 
134 


VIOLA    ALLEN 


Viola  Allen.  135 

**  The  Christian ''  was  produced  in  Albany, 
N.  Y.,  August  23,  1898,  and  after  a  pre- 
liminary tour  it  opened  in  New  York  on 
October  lOth,  remaining  there  until  March 
5  th,  when  it  was  taken  to  Boston,  where  it 
ran  out  the  season.  ^^  It  is  a  strictly  theatrical 
play,  and  its  characters  are  largely  of  machine 
make.  It  chiefly  appeals  to  persons  on 
whom  the  theatre-going  habit  is  not  per- 
manently fixed,  and  who,  therefore,  are  not 
analysers,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  of 
dramatic  effects.  The  sentiments  in  the 
speeches  of  John  Storm,  speeches  that  are 
uttered  by  the  actor  with  all  the  solemnity 
of  complete  conviction,  strike  the  unsophis- 
ticated with  peculiar  force,  and  these  hifalutin 
words  and  preachy  conventionalities,  together 
with  a  certain  dramatic  power  that  is  the 
only  reason  for  the  existence  of  the  mechan- 
ical drama,  account  easily  enough  for  the 
popular  success  of  the  play?  If  one  tears 
away  this  cant  and  insincerity,  he  finds  that 


136         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

the  core  of  the  play  is  the  love  of  John 
Storm  for  Glory  Quayle,  the  one  a  visionary 
ascetic,  almost  a  fanatic,  with  a  great  desire 
to  help  the  poor  and  downtrodden,  and  with 
a  greater  desire  to  wed  the  beautiful  Manx 
girl,  lovely  in  character,  pure-minded,  tal- 
ented, ambitious,  but  absolutely  without  the 
martyr  spirit  that  is  so  essential  a  part  of 
Storm's  self-centred  nature.  Storm,  in- 
tensely earnest,  immensely  sympathetic  with 
the  mob,  is  still  curiously  selfish,  besides 
being  absolutely  wanting  in  power  of  self- 
analysis.  Without  knowing  it,  he  is  a 
thorough  pessimist.  The  author's  problem 
is  to  unite  Glory,  the  actress,  the  light- 
hearted,  fun-loving  girl,  and  the  honest, 
true-hearted  woman,  and  Storm,  the  uncom- 
promising, to  make  one  the  optimist  and  the 
pessimist,  a  problem  that  apparently  has  no 
logical  solution,  —  at  least,  none  so  far  as 
Mr.  Caine  is  concerned.  His  way  of  doing 
it  is  to  wrench  Glory  from  her  world,  and 


p^i^Alhn.  137 

throw   her   into    Storm's  arms,   and  this    is 

what  they  call  a  happy  ending. 

Miss  Allen's  acting  was  far  better  than 

the   play.     She   is   personally  a   woman   of 

much   charm,  and   professionally  an  actress 

^  ■  fwq 

of  well-rounded  art.     While  she  has  no  great       1 

spontaneity  of  method,  nor  a  temperament 
whose  dramatic  qualities  especially  impress 
one,  she  has  fine  tact,  much  intelligence,  and 
emotional  gifts  of  no  mean  order.  Her  ver- 
satility is  adequate,  though  by  no  means  ex- 
traordinary, and  her  comedy  —  especially 
in  situations  that  call  for  vivacity  and  girlish 
gaiety  —  is  less  apt  to  ring  true  than  her 
acting  in  moments  that  require  the  por- 
trayal of  quiet  and  deep  emotion.  This, 
of ^ , CQPXse,  .is  but. ^.another  way  of  saying  ^^^^^ 
that  she  does  not  laugh  well,  for  the  secret  (/- 
of  success  in  girlish  characters  of  the  light 
comedy  order  is,  a  Joyous  laugh  that  sounds 
perfectly  natural. 
^  Viola  Allen  comes  of  a  theatrical  family. 


138         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

Her  father  is  C.  Leslie  Allen,  an  accom- 
plished character  actor,  who  first  appeared 
on  the  stage  in  1852  in  the  Howard 
Athenaeum  in  Boston,  and  a  short  time  after 
in  the  old  Boston  Theatre  on  Federal  Street. 
He  spoke  the  last  words  uttered  to  an 
audience  in  the  latter  house  before  it  was 
burned.  Mr.  Allen  acted  in  many  of  the 
old-time  stock  companies,  playing  especially 
well  such  parts  as  Uriah  Heep  in  "David 
Copperfield,"  Malvolio  in  "Twelfth  Night," 
Saunders  in  "  The  Man  o'  Airlie,"  Bardolph 
in  "  The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,"  in  which 
he  supported  James  H.  Hackett,  the  famous 
Falstaff ;  Moneypenny  in  "The  Long  Strike," 
and  Old  Rodgers  in  "  Esmeralda."  Miss 
Allen's  mother  was  also  on  the  stage.  She 
was  born  in  England  and  came  to  this  country 
at  an  early  age.  The  first  character  that 
she  ever  acted  was  the  Player  Queen  in 
"  Hamlet."  She  was  married  to  Mr.  Allen 
in    1862,    and    for   many   years   they   were 


Viola  Allen.  139 

together    in    the    same    companies.      Mrs. 
Allen's  speciality  was  "  old  woman ''  parts. 

Miss  Allen  was  born  in  the  late  sixties 
in  Alabama,  where  her  parents  were  play- 
ing, but  she  spent  nearly  all  her  childhood 
in  Boston,  where  she  attended  school,  and, 
indeed,  lived  and  grew  up  in  much  the 
same  way  as  does  the  average  girl,  for  her 
father  and  mother,  who  were  connected 
with  the  Boston  Theatre  company  during 
that  time,  were  able  to  maintain  a  home, 
that  rarest  of  an  actor's  blessings.  When 
she  was  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  old,  her 
parents  obtained  engagements  in  New  York, 
and  the  family  moved  to  that  city,  where 
Miss  Allen  continued  in  school.  Her  debut 
on  the  stage  came  about  unexpectedly  when 
she  was  about  fifteen  years  old.  Her  father 
was  playing  in  the  Madison  Square  Theatre 
Company  in  support  of  Annie  Russell,  who 
was  making  a  great  success  in  New  York 
in  "  Esmeralda."     Miss  Russell  retired  from 


140         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

the  cast,  and  the  question  came,  who  should 
take  her  place.  Miss  Allen  had  never  even 
s^^^n  a  dozen  plays  in  her  life,  much  less 
acted  in  any ;  but  she  had  the  instinct,  and 
when  the  chance  was  given  her  to  succeed 
Miss  Russell,  she  jumped  at  the  opportunity. 
/As  is  often  the  case,  in  spite  of  her  igno- 

^  V     ranee  of  the  stage  and  lack  of  time  in  which 
to  study  the  character,  she  made  a  success. 
'    "  Where  did  you  get  your  dramatic  train- 
ing } ''  Miss  Allen  was  once  asked. 

"  I  can't  tell  you,"  she  replied.  "  I  have 
naturally  enough  been  interested  in  dramatic 
matters    ever  since    I  can  remember,  and  I 

^\  have  read  and  studied  Shakespeare  since 
I  could  read  at  all,  always,  of  course,  under 
the  guidance  of  my  father.  But  all  the 
training  of  practical  value  that  I  have  had  I 
got  upon  the  stage. '''^ 

After  a  season  on  the  road  with  "  Esme- 
ralda,'' Miss  Allen  became  leading  lady  for 
John  McCullough  for  the  season  that  proved 


Viola  Allen.  141 

to  be  the  actor's  last.  With  him  she  acted 
Virginia,  in  which  she  has  been  described  as 
"  the  sweetest,  almost,  that  ever  was  seen  — 
so  winning,  so  young,  so  fragile-looking ; " 
Desdemona,  an  impersonation  that  has  clung 
to  the  memories  of  those  that  saw  it ;  Parthe- 
nia ;  and  Julia  in  "  The  Gladiator,"  Doctor 
Bird's  version,  a  totally  different  play  from  the 
one  of  the  same  name  presented  by  Salvini. 
In  those  days  a  writer  characterised  Miss 
Allen  thus  :  "  As  dainty  as  she  is  young  and 
as  promising  as  she  is  natural.'*  After  her 
^"^ngagement  with  McCuUough  she  joined 
^  Lawrence  Barrett  for  the  production  of 
Browning's  "  Blot  on  the  'Scutcheon,"  and 
the  next  season  she  supported  the  elder 
Salvini,  with  whom  she  assumed  such  r61es  as 
Cordelia  in  "King  Lear,"  Desdemona  in 
'*  Othello,"  Neodamia  in  the  Salvini  version  of 
"The  Gladiator,"  and  the  wife's  part  in  "Le 
Mort  Civile]"  On  the  off  nights,  when  Alex- 
ander Salvini  played,  she  was  Juliet  to  his 


142         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

Romeo.  Miss  Allen  was  asked  if  she  found 
it  difBcult  to  follow  Salvini  in  English  while 
he  spoke  in  Italian.  "  Oh,  not  at  all,"  she 
replied.  **  He  was  so  wonderfully  eloquent  of 
face  and  gesture,  I  could  always  tell  the  mean- 
ing of  what  he  was  saying  even  though  I 
could  not  understand  a  word." 

Miss  Allen's  death  scenes  were  much 
admired,  and  regarding  them  she  once  ex- 
pressed herself  as  follows  : 

"  I  have  endured  many  deaths.  One  of  them 
was  in  <Virginius,'  when  I  was  stabbed  and 
fell  backward  to  the  ground.  When  I  played 
in  *  Othello '  with  Salvini,  I  was  always 
nervous  during  the  smothering  scene,  because 
he  used  to  get  so  excited.  I  turned  my  face 
sideways  and  held  a  small  place  open  under 
the  further  side  of  the  pillow,  so  that  I  could 
breathe,  but  even  that  breathing  hole  would 
frequently  get  closed  up  under  the  forceful 
energy  of  Salvini.  Then,  when  he  finds  that 
he   has  killed  Desdemona  without  cause,  in 


Viola  Allen,  143 

his  remorse  he  throws  himself  heavily  on  the 
body.  I  used  to  wait  for  this  piece  of  busi- 
ness with  fear  and  trembling.  Salvini's  fall 
was  awfully  realistic.  As  Juliet  I  have  died 
many  times.  You  know  Romeo  drinks  the 
poison  and  subsequently  throws  the  vial 
away  as  I  approach  him.  (This  is  in  the 
Garrick  version.)  Then,  seeing  him  die,  I 
stab  myself  and  fall  over  him.  One  night 
some  practical  joker  thought  it  would  be 
funny  to  fill  the  vial  with  ink,  and  as  Romeo 
merely  made  a  slight  motion  of  drinking  he 
did  not  notice  the  fluid,  but  when  he  threw 
the  bottle  from  him  it  struck  somewhere 
near  me,  and  the  ink  flew  all  over  my  face 
and  lovely  white  dress.  On  that  occasion 
you  may  be  sure  that  I  ended  my  life  with 
the  least  possible  delay.  In  *  La  Cha  bon- 
niere '  I  died  a  slow  death  by  poison,  and  I 
took  special  care  to  find  out  the  right  poison 
that  should  be  mentioned  in  the  piece  as  the 
one  which  would  cause  a  slow  numbing  of 


144        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

the  senses.  As  Jess  in  *  Hoodman  Blind  * 
I  died  of  starvation,  and  lay  on  my  side  well 
down  the  stage.  This  was  often  an  awkward 
situation  on  account  of  the  different  curtains 
at  the  various  theatres.  Sometimes,  to  avoid 
my  being  struck  by  the  curtain,  the  hero 
would  be  obliged  to  drag  my  body  back,  and 
once,  though  a  man  put  out  his  hand  to  keep 
the  roller  away  from  me,  the  heavy  mass 
actually  grazed  my  nose." 

After  leaving  Salvini,  Miss  Allen  was  asso- 
ciated with  a  number  of  travelling  companies, 
and  she  also  starred  for  a  brief  and  unsuc- 
cessful season.  Then  she  joined  Frederic  de 
Belleville,  and  both  were  featured  in  melo- 
drama, after  which,  in  1888,  she  was  engaged 
as  leading  lady  of  the  Boston  Museum  stock 
company.  While  with  the  Museum  com- 
pany she  played  Evelyn  Brookfield  in  the 
English  melodrama,  "The  Bells  of  Hasle- 
mere,"  which  had  a  long  run  in  Boston, 
and    she    created   in    America   the   part   of 


Viola  Allen.  145 

Mrs.  Enrol  in  "  Little  Lord  Fauntleroy,"  in 
which  Elsie  Leslie  was  the  Fauntleroy.  This 
was,  perhaps,  the  greatest  success  the  Mu- 
seum ever  had.  She  also  created  the  leading 
feminine  r61e  in  Bronson  Howard's  "  Shenan- 
doah,'* when  that  drama  was  produced  at 
the  Museum,  and  she  was  the  first  Fanny- 
on  this  side  of  the  water  in  Robert 
Buchanan's  "Joseph's  Sweetheart."  She 
appeared  as  Minnie  in  Pinero's  "Sweet 
Lavender,"  in  "  Hazel  Kirke "  at  her  own 
benefit,  and  acted  Violet  Melrose  and  Clara 
Douglass  in  the  old  comedies,  "  Our  Boys  " 
and  "Money.''  Miss  Allen  made  a  fine 
im£ress]on  at  the  Boston  Museum,  although 
the  engagement  by  no  means  showed  her 
at  her  best,  for  it  did  not  present  her  in 
parts  that  were  especially  suited  to  her, 
or  that  made  any  great  demands  on  her 
abilities. 

In  the  fall  of  1 889  she  became  a  member 
of  the   Joseph   Jefferson-William  Florence 


0' 


146        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

Company,  playing  Lydia  Languish  to  Jef- 
ferson's Bob  Acres  and  Florence's  Sir  Lucius 
O'Trigger  in  "The  Rivals,"  and  Cicely  Home- 
spun to  Jefferson's  Doctor  Pangloss  and 
Florence's  Zeke  Homespun  in  "The  Heir- 
at-Law."  In  1893  she  joined  the  Empire 
Theatre  Company  of  New  York  as  leading 
lady,  which  position  she  left  to  star  in  "  The 
Christian."  Her  first  appearance  with  the 
Empire  Company  was  in  Bronson  Howard's 
unfortunate  "Aristocracy,"  and  she  was  later 
identified  with  such  successes  as  "  Liberty 
Hall,"  "  The  Masqueraders,"  and  "  Sowing 
the  Wind."  Her  last  appearance  with  this 
company  was  as  Yvonne  in  **  The  Con- 
querors." 


CORONA    RICCARDO 
As  Berenice  in  '*  The  Sign  of  the  Cross ' 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

CORONA    RICCARDO. 

In  November,  1 898,  Robert  ^Mantell  came 
to.  Boston^  for  his  _anjiuaj_e^  Mr. 

Mantell  had  been  coming  to  Boston  in  simi- 
lar fashion  for  years ;  for  years,  also,  as  the 
dramatic  editor  viewed  the  case,  he  had 
ogened  his  week's  stay  with  the  grotesquely 
old-fashioned~play»  "  Monbars,/'  Surely  noth- 
ing new  could  come  from  "  Monbars,"  and 
so  the  office  boy  got  the  Mantell  tickets. 
Now,  the  office  boy  was  not  a  great  dra- 
matic critic,  but  he  did  know  a  good  thing 
when  he  saw  it.  Consequently,  the  follow- 
ing morning  there  were  loud  proclamations 
around  the  newspaper  office  to  the  effect 
that  Mantell  had  a  young  woman  in  his 
147 


148         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

company,  who,  as  the  office  boy  expressed 
it,  was  "great/'  The  dramatic  editor,  at 
that  time,  did  not  appreciate  the  value  of 
the  office  boy's  notions  of  acting.  But  the 
constant  dropping  of  water  will  wear  away 
a  stone,  and  similarly  the  office  boy's  con- 
'stantly  reiterated  praise  made  its  impression 
on  the  dramatic  editor?^  So  when  "Romeo 
and  Juliet"  was  played  at  the  Wednesday 
matinee,  he  sent  his  faithful  and  long-suffer- 
ing assistant  to  see  if  this  girl,  who  had  so 
captivated  the  office  boy,  was  really  good 
for  anything. 

The  faithful  and  long-suffering  assistant 
received  the  commission  with  misgiving,  and 
fulfilled  it  with  reluctance.  Before  the  first 
act  of  Shakespeare's  tragedy  had  ended,  how- 
ever, he,  like  the  office  boy,  was  brought  to 
a  state  of  unabashed  adoration.  He  returned 
to  the  office,  primed  to  write  a  column,  but 
the  dramatic  editor  said  "  Bosh  !  "  and  then 
secretly  resolved  to  see  this  marvel  for  him- 


Corona  Riccardo.  149 

self.  That  is  how  he  became  acquainted 
with  Corona  Riccardo's  Desdemona.  The 
experience  was  a  surprising  one.  He  ex- 
pected to  be  bored  ;  he  did  not  intend  to 
stay  through  more  than  two  acts  under  any 
circumstances.  What  a  fall  was  there !  He 
found  himself  intensely  interested  in  a  ^es- 
demona  whose  youth,  beauty,  and  exquisite 
feminine  charm  stirred  his  very  soul,  the 
music  of  whose  voice  was  like  a  soft,  sooth- 
ing melody  in  his  ears,  and  whose  gentle 
pathos  and  pitiful  suffering  greatly  aroused 
his  s)mipathy,  and  moved  him  to  a  degree 
almost  embarrassing. 
"^  At  present  but  twenty  years  old,  the 
daughter  of  Roman  parents,  though  born 
in  Naples,  Corona  Riccardo  possesses  to  the 
highest  degree  the  colourful  dramatic  tem- 
perament that  is  the  Italian's  birthright  She 
realises  with  a  wealth  of  physical  perfection 
the  ideal  type  of  Southern  womanly  beauty. 
Her  hair  is  black  as  the  raven's  wing,  fram- 


150        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

ing  a  face  of  wonderful  plasticity,  a  mirror 
of  the  emotions,  from  which  shine  eyes 
whose  midnight  depths  at  one  moment 
seem  fathomless  wells  of  melting  tender- 
ness, and  at  another  unquenchable  volcanoes 
of  blazing  wrath,  eyes  that  the  love-light 
makes  surpassingly  feminine,  which  anger 
and  rage  make  terrible.  In  figure  she  is 
tall  and  stately,  and  she  moves  with  a  glid- 
ing grace  that  is  natural  and  unstudied. 
Her  voice  is  a  choice  instrument,  rich, 
deep,  and  full,  and  her  speech  betrays  the 
faintest  hint  of  a  foreign  accent,  which,  with- 
out in  the  least  marring  her  pronunciation 
of  English  words,  gives  an  added  charm  of 
liquid  softness  to  her  enunciation. 

Miss  Riccardo  is,  I  believe,  the  most 
promising  actress  on  the  American  stage. 
Even  now,  with  a  stage  experience  of  less 
than  five  years,  her  exceptional  physical  en- 
dowment, her  splendid  intelligence,  and  her 
fine   art,   even   in   its  present   incompletely 


Corona  Riccardo,  151 

developed  state,  give  her  rank  with  the  best. 
And  she  has  her  whole  life  before  her ! 

Corona  Riccardo  lost  her  parents  when 
she  was  very  young,  and  her  entire  girl- 
hood was  spent  in  convents  in  southern 
France  and  in  this  country.  Her  earliest 
ambition  was  to  sing,  and  for  a  time  she 
studied  for  grand  opera.  But  she  grew  rest- 
ive under  this  drudgery,  and  turned  her 
attention  to  the  stage.  Her  first  appearance 
was  in  New  York,  in  the  fall  of  1894,  at 
a  matinee  performance  in  the  Empire  Theatre 
by  Nelson  Wheatcroft's  pupils.  Miss  Ric- 
cardo took  the  part  of  a  Mexican  girl  and 
acted  it  so  capably  that  the  New  York 
critics,  who  watch  these  show  performances 
rather  closely,  gave  her  a  very  complimen- 
tary send-off.  Shortly  after  this  she  was 
engaged  by  Wilson  Barrett,  who  was  at 
that  time  touring  the  United  States,  and 
she  made  her  professional  debut  as  Ancaria 
in  "The  Sign  of  the  Cross."  Later  she  was 


152         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

promoted  to  the  role  of  the  patrician,  Bere- 
nice, which  she  played  with  Mr.  Barrett,  in 
London.  Regarding  her  performance  of  this 
character,  Clement  Scott  wrote : 

"  Miss  Corona  Riccardo  appears  as  Bere- 
nice, the  seductive  Roman  girl.  This  youngs 
actress  has,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  a  future. 
She  is  strikingly  handsome,  and  so  looks  the 
part  to  perfection.  But  she  does  more,  she 
plays  it  with  a  passionate  energy  and  volup- 
tuous grace  that  stamp  her  as  being  possessed 
of  great  talent.  At  present,  hers  is  untrained 
power,  but  for  all  that  it  is  very  fascinating 
and  exceptionally  good.  Italian  by  birth, 
Miss  Riccardo  only  gives  evidence  of  her 
nationality  —  as  far  as  voice  is  concerned  — 
in  the  passionate  outburst  of  jealousy  to 
which  Berenice  gives  vent." 

After  closing  with  Mr.  Barrett,  Miss  Ric- 
cardo was  obliged  to  retire  from  active  work 
for  a  year,  on  account  of  ill  health.  She 
became  Mr.    Mantell's  chief  support  in  the 


Corona  Riccardo,  153 

fall  of  1898,  and  with  him  she  acted  six 
characters,  Juliet  in  "Romeo  and  Juliet/' 
Desdemona  in  **  Othello,"  Ophelia  in  "  Ham- 
let," Diane  in  *'Monbars,"  Lucille  in  "A 
Face  in  the  Moonlight,"  and  Marguerite  in 
"  A  Secret  Warrant."  Just  before  Augustin 
Daly  left  for  Europe  —  only  a  few  weeks 
previous  to  his  death  in  Paris  —  Miss  Ric- 
cardo was  engaged  for  his  company,  and  the 
day  that  the  ship  sailed  she  appeared  for  the 
first  time  as  the  Countess  Mirtza  in  "The 
Great  Ruby,"  which  character  she  played 
until  the  theatre  was  closed  after  Mr.  Daly's 
death.  It  was  considered  by  members  of 
the  company  a  noteworthy  incident  that  Mr. 
Daly,  after  a  single  rehearsal,  should  be  so 
satisfied  with  Miss  Riccardo  as  to  leave  for 
Europe  without  waiting  for  her  public  per- 
formance. The  Dramatic  Mirror  said  that 
she  impersonated  the  Countess  with  more 
skill  and  more  power  than  her  predecessors, 
and  added :    ''  Her  accession  to  Mr.  Daly's 


154         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

company  unquestionably  enhances  that 
organisation.  If  her  present  strong  and 
picturesque  performance  can  be  taken  as  an 
indication  of  her  dramatic  resources,  she 
seems  destined  to  reach  an  enviable  rank  on 
the  metropolitan  stage." 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  Miss  Riccardo  will 
soon  be  seen  at  the  head  of  her  own  company. 
In  fact,  she  has  already  had  several  offers 
from  persons  anxious  to  secure  her  as  a  star. 
"But  what  in  my  poor  judgment  seems  just 
the  right  one,  has  not  come  yet,"  she  told 
me.  She  owns  two  plays,  one  dramatised 
especially  for  her  from  one  of  Tolstoi's 
recent  novels,  and  the  other  by  Dumas,  a 
drama  that  has  met  with  great  success 
abroad,  but  which  has  never  been  presented 
in  this  country.  A  London  dramatist  is  also 
at  work  on  a  third  drama,  the  plot  of  which 
she  herself  suggested.  "The  chief  role," 
Miss  Riccardo  explained,  "  will  demand  some- 
thing the  same  range  and  power  as  Juliet, 


Corona  Riccardo,  155 

though  the  play  will,  of  course,  be  the  work 
of  a  modern  author,  and  will  not  be  written 
in  blank  verse/' 

"  My  only  wish  and  desire,"  she  continued, 
"  is  to  play  the  parts  I  love  best,  and  play 
them  before  I  am  old,  while  I  can  yet  look 
and  understand  and  feel  them  without  having 
to  think  backward,  and  remember  how  I  did 
act  and  feel  when  I  was  the  age  of  the  char- 
acter I  would  portray.  I  do  not  want  to 
wait  till  I  am  old." 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

MARY    MANNERING. 

Mary  Mannering  is  an  English  girl,  who 

came  to  this  country  a  little  over  two  years 

ago,  to  play  leading  parts  in  Daniel  Frohman*s 

Lyceum  Theatre  Company.     No  sooner  did 

she  get  here  than  she  fell  in  love   with  an 

Anjerican  actor,  James  K.  Hackett,  who  was 

then  leading  man  of  the  Lyceum  Company. 

^^    In  May,  i897,^he  two  were  secretly  married^ 

^  and   so   closely   was    this    interesting    fact 

guarded   that   the   public   never   learned  of 

it  until  the  couple  themselves  announced  it 

the  following  January,  after  Mr.  Hackett  had 

recovered  from  a  serious  attack  of  typhoid 

fever,  through  which  he  was  nursed  by  the 

winsome  actress.      Miss  Mannering,  who  is 
1^6 


Mary  Mannering.  157 

not  yet  twenty-five  years  old,  had  been  acting, 
principally  in  the  English  provinces,  about 
seven  years,  when  Mr.  Frohman  discovered 
her.  He  journeyed  from  London  to  see  a 
play  called  "  The  Late  Mr.  Costello,"  which 
he  thought  he  might  want  for  his  New  York 
theatre.  He  bought  the  play,  which,  later, 
proved  a  failure,  and  he  also  engaged  Miss 
Mannering,  who  was  playing  one  of  the 
characters  in  it. 

In  England,  Miss  Mannering  was  known 
on  the  stage  as  Florence  Friend.  She  made 
her  ddbut  with  Mrs.  James  Brown  Potter 
and  Kyrle  Bellew,  in  "Hero  and  Leander," 
and  her  first  part  called  for  the  speaking  of 
just  three  lines.  She  then  came  under  the 
tutorship  of  Herman  Vezin,  an  American 
and  an  actor  of  considerable  versatility  and 
extraordinary  energy,  and  during  her  con- 
nection with  him  she  became  well  known 
and  extremely  popular  in  the  English  prov- 
inces, though  London,  the  goal  of  the  British 


158         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

actor*s  ambition,  knew  little  or  nothing  of 
her.  Speaking  of  Mr.  Vezin,  Miss  Manner- 
ing  said : 

'<I  am  very  grateful  to  Mr.  Vezin,  and 
have  great  admiration  for  him.  He  was  one 
of  the  best  actors  of  Shakespearian  drama  I 
think  I  ever  saw.  When  I  was  with  him 
I  appeared  in  a  number  of  Shakespeare's 
plays,  and  I  was  but  eighteen  when  I  acted 
the  Queen  in  *  Hamlet,'  while  Mr.  Vezin, 
then  more  than  sixty  years  old,  was  the 
Dane.  Fancy  a  Hamlet  of  sixty  interviewing 
his  mother  of  eighteen  ! 

"  I  do  not  care  much  for  the  part  of  Rose 
Trelawney,''  Miss  Mannering  continued,  re- 
ferring to  her  last  season's  success.  "  Per- 
haps it  is  because  I  have  a  craving  to  play 
more  emotional  parts.  I  am  anxious  to  act 
Camille.  Indeed,  I  have  longed  to  try 
Dumas's  famous  heroine  ever  since  I  went 
on  the  stage.  I  should  like  to  star  as  Mar- 
guerite Gauthier,  and  then,  if  I  were  success- 


MARY    MANNERING 
As  Rose  in  "  Trelawney  of  the  Wells ' 


Mary  Mannering.  159 

ful,  I  should  want  to  add  a  number  of 
Shakespeare^s  characters  to  my  repertory." 

Miss  Mannering* s  first  appearance  with 
the  Lyceum  Company  was  made  in  "  The 
Courtship  of  Leonie,"  a  play  that  proved  a 
failure.  Miss  Mannering,  however,  by  means 
of  her  winning  personality  and  gentle  woman- 
liness, won  the  affections  of  the  Lyceum 
patrons,  and  she  has  retained  them  ever 
since.  Her  personal  success  was  continued 
in  "The  First  Gentleman  of  Europe,**  in 
which  she  played  Daphne,  and  in  "The 
Mayflower,*'  though  neither  drama  won  any 
great  favour.  Then  came  her  triumph  as 
Fay  Zuliani  in  "  The  Princess  and  the  But- 
terfly," which  was  followed  last  year  by  her 
beautiful  imper^Qnation  of  Rose  /Trelawney 
in  "Trelawney  of  the  Wells.** 

Among  all  the  actors  who  have  such 
important  places  in  Mr.  Pinero's  fascinating 
comedy,  Rose  is  the  only  one  that  is  without 
eccentricities   and    amusing    absurdities    of 


l6o         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

thought,  speech,  and  action.     Not  a  charac- 
ter of   any  great   positiveness,  —  though  as 
the  play  progresses  it  continually  increases 
in  emotional  power,  —  the  role  requires,  above 
all  things,  simplicity  and  sincerity,  and  these 
Miss   Mannering  conveys  with  rare  charm, 
/j^oreover,  her  outburst  of  righteous  indigna- 
tion, when  she  leaves  the  Gower  mansion  at 
the  end  of  the  second  act,  and  the  pathos  of 
her   position    in   the   theatre,  —  an    actress 
whose  experiences  in  real  life  had  made  her 
I  incapable  of  ever  again  successfully  present- 
ing the  stilted  heroines  of  the  artificial  drama 
rf>     then  in  vogue,  —  so   delicately  indicated  in 
^  the  third  act,  both  evidence  a  dramatic  force 
^     that  the  character  makes  little  demand  upon. 


JULIA    ARTHUR 
As  Mercedes  in  "  Mercedes  " 


V 


CHAPTER   XV. 

JULIA     ARTHUR. 

Ambitious  to  win  a  foremost  position  on 
the  English-speaking  stage,  and  thoroughly- 
honest  in  her  resolve  to  make  her  fight  only 
along  the  highest  lines  of  artistic  endeavour ; 
of  surpassing  beauty  of  face,  exceptionally- 
endowed  with  the  dramatic  temperament, 
well  schooled  in  the  art  of  acting ;  intelli- 
gent,  cultured,  sincere,  and  mentally  inde- 
pendent ;  a  woman  who  fears  not  hard  work, 
Julia  Arthur  challenges  serious  attention 
and  deserves  every  encouragement.  "  Should 
you  ask  if  Julia  Arthur  is  to  be  considered 
a  great  actress,  I  should  unhesitatingly  reply 
that  she  is  not.     She  has  limitations  that  she 

as  yet  shows  no  indications  of  going  beyond. 
i6i 


1 62         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

I  do  not  believe,  for  instance,  that  she  will 
ever  play  straight  comedy  with  any  great 
distinction,  though  I  do  not  deny  that  she 
may  learn  to  play  it  with  authority.  Miss 
Arthur,  however,  has  still  to  reach  her  full 
artistic  stature,  and  the  tragic  depths  of  her 
,^^ temperament  have  only  partially  been  re- 
vealed. Ujimstakably „  an  aQLr^^^^^ 
she  is,  moreover,  one  of  the  three  or  four 
persons  in  this  country  who  are  actually  — 
and  at  some  personal  sacrifice,  too  —  accom- 
plishing something  for  the  drama  as  an  art. 

What  is  the  most  remarkable  characteris- 
tic of  Julia  Arthur's  acting }  Emphatically 
it  is  her  power  to  burn  into  the  memory  of 
the  person  that  sees  her  in  any  r61e  whatso- 
ever an  impression  that  never  wholly  fades 
away.  This  is  a  most  exceptional  gift,  for  no 
artistic  endeavour  is  so  ephemeral  as  the 
actor's.  He  creates  for  the  passing  moment 
only.  He  is  a  sculptor  carving  imaginary 
statues.     He  may  have  genius,  strengthened 


Julia  A rthur.  1 63 

by  years  of  observation  and  study,  yet  all  he 
can  expect  is  to  live  a  little  while  in  the 
memories  of  those  that  have  themselves 
seen  him.  The  most  appreciative  of  critics 
cannot  help  him,  for  the  essence  of  the 
art  of  acting,  the  great  personal  equation 
that,  after  all,  is  the  backbone  of  a  stage 
impersonation,  cannot  be  conveyed  in 
words. 

Less  than  ten  years  ago,  when  a  member 
of  A.  M.  Palmer's  Madison  Square  Theatre 
Company,  Julia  Arthur  first  demonstrated 
that  she  had  exceptional  talent.  At  that 
time  she  revealed  a  power,  the  full  possibili- 
ties of  which  she  has  not  yet  realised.  The 
play  was  "Lady  Windermere's  Fan,"  an 
exotic,  in  which,  nevertheless,  Miss  Arthur 
noiade  plain  the  tragic  element  that  is  so  much 
a  distinguishing  trait  of  her  dramatic  person- 
ality, and  which  has  been  since  more  deeply 
felt  in  her  "  Mercedes."  She  was  scarcely 
more  than  a  girl  in  those  days,  a  brunette  of 


164        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

the  most  pronounced  type,  a  face  Madonna- 
like, with  eyes  coal  black  and  limpid,  soft  and 
caressing  in  moments  of  tenderness,  welling 
full  of  tears  in  moments  of  sorrow,  flashing, 
burning,  scornful  in  moments  of  passion, 
wonderful -.ey^s.  of  abiding  fascination,  ap- 
proaching those  of  Edwin  Booth  in  their 
powers  of  expression. 

Within  this  girl  there  stormed  and  raved 
a  turgid  temperament,  which  she  had  not 
learned  to  control.  She  was  in  the  same 
predicament  as  an  untaught  singer,  whose 
great  voice  threatens  to  tear  his  throat  to 
tatters.  Miss  Arthur's  temperament  was 
not  refined  nor  subtle ;  it  dwelt  among  the 
basal  elements  of  human  nature,  among  the 
passions  of  primitive  mankind,  the  fierce 
passions  of  unreasoning  hate  and  unreasoning 
love.  Such  was  the  Julia  Arthur  of  the 
early  days,  and  such,  essentially,  is  the  Julia 
Arthur  of  to-day,  for  hers  is  not  a  tempera- 
ment to  change  materially,  grow  and  develop 


.-t^' 


Julia  Arthur,  165 

however  much  it  may.  She  is  a  woman  of 
magnificent  depth  of  feeling,  of  great  emo- 
tional force,  but  a  woman  in  whom  feminine 
charm,  as  a  dramatic  value,  is  quite  non- 
existent. 

Julia  Arthur  was  born  in  Hamilton,  On- 
tario, May  3,  1869,  and  her  stage  life  began 
fourteen  years  later,  when  she  became  a 
member  of  the  company  of  Daniel  E.  Band- 
mann,  an  eccentric  German  tragedian,  who 
probably  played  Shakespeare  in  more  out- 
landish places  than  any  actor  that  ever  lived. 
After  three  years  with  Bandmann,  and  a 
visit  abroad,  she  played  in  stock  companies 
in  San  Francisco,  Savannah,  and  Halifax, 
Nova  Scotia.  Then  followed  a  year  with 
"The  Still  Alarm,"  and  another  year  with 
a  Canadian  company.  In  August,  1891,  she 
appeared  at  the  Union  Square  Theatre,  New 
York,  in  "  The  Black  Mask."  In  November 
she  joined  A.  M.  Palmer's  company,  playing 
Jeanne  in  "The  Broken  Seal."     The  sum- 


1 66        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

mer  of  1892  was  spent  with  the  Jacob  Litt's 
Company  in  Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul. 

Returning  to  Mr.  Palmer's  company  in 
the  fall,  she  created  in  America  the  part  of 
Lady  Windermere,  which  was  followed  by  her 
greatest  success  in  Thomas  Bailey  Aldrich's 
adaptation  from  the  Spanish,  ''Mercedes." 
After  leaving  the  Palmer  company  Miss 
Arthur  joined  Henry  Irving's  forces  in 
England,  creating  Rosamond  in  Tennyson's 
"  Becket,"  and  later  appearing  with  Mr. 
Irving  during  his  American  tour. 

In  October,  1897,  Miss  Arthur  started 
out  as  a  star  in  *'A  Lady  of  Quality,"  by 
Stephen  Townsend  and  Mrs.  Frances  Hodg. 
son  Burnett.  Her  season  was  interrupted 
during  her  Boston  engagement  by  illness, 
and  at  this  time,  also,  her  marriage  to  Ben- 
jamin P.  Cheney,  of  Boston,  was  announced. 
This  alliance  put  abundant  means  at  Miss 
Arthur's  disposal,  which  she  has  utilised  in 
elaborate  productions  of  Shakespearian  and 


Julia  Arthur,  167 

classic  dramas.  Miss  Arthur's  roles  of  last 
season  were  Clorinda  Wildairs  in  "A  Lady 
of  Quality/'  Parthenia  in  "  Ingomar,"  Ros- 
alind in  '*As  You  Like  It,"  Galatea  in 
"  Pygmalion  and  Galatea,"  Juliet  in  *<  Romeo 
and  Juliet,"  and  Mercedes. 

**  Mercedes  "  is  a  sordid  tale  of  love,  jeal- 
ousy, and  revenge,  and  in  it  Miss  Arthur  finds 
as  she  has  found  in  no  other  play,  oppor- 
tunities to  reveal  in  all  their  brutality  the 
animal  passions  of  ^a  woman  unrestrained  by 
even  the  conception  of  refinement.  Such 
a  woman  fits  perfectly  into  the  Arthur  tem- 
perament, and  the  characterisation  is  won-  / 
derfuUy  complete.  ^ 

"  A_LadyL,Qf  QualityJl_ la . „a poor  play, 

which  last  season  met  its  just  fate  in  Eng- 
land, where  it  failed  completely.  In  this 
country  it  had  considerable  vogue,  which, 
it  is  but  fair  to  say,  was  entirely  due  to 
Miss  Arthur's  art.  At  least,  her  art  was 
sufficient    to   conceal    from   the  public   the 


1 68         Famous  Ac'tresses  of  the  Day, 

crudity  of  the  Burnett-Townsend  product. 
Miss  Arthur,  however,  was  not  led  astray 
by  the  popular  approval  of  '*A  Lady  of 
Quality/'  She  soon  realised  what  a  wretched 
work  of  art  it  was,  and  she  was  ready  to 
break  away  from  it  long  before  those  inter- 
ested with  her  financially  were  willing  that 
she  should. 

The  character  of  Clorinda  Wildairs,  apart 
from  the  play,  was  not  an  uninteresting  one. 
Here  was  a  girl  of  fearless,  passionate  dis- 
position, a  girl,  motherless,  who  fought  her 
way  into  womanhood  side  by  side  with 
roistering  men,  and  through  it  all  —  here 
is  the  inconsistency  of  the  character  — 
remained  so  innocent  that  she  succumbed 
to  the  wiles  of  the  first  man  that  assailed 
her  virtue.  Proudly  independent,  she  looked 
the  world,  man-like,  face  to  face.  With 
superb  courage  she  brought  her  deceiver 
grovelling  to  her  feet.  When  he  refused 
longer  to  grovel   she   killed   him» 


Julia  Arthur.  169 

It  will  readily  be  seen  that  there  were 
phases  in  the  character  particularly  suited 
to  Miss  Arthur.  But  Jj^clmract^ 
no  means  artistically  developed  in  the  play, 
for  one  saw  no  growth,  only  results.  Con- 
sequently the  great  blemish  in  Miss  Arthur's 
acting  seemed  especially  prominent  in  this 
characterisation.  As  Clorinda,  Miss  Arthur 
had  great  moments,  but  these  moments  were 
rarely  reached  by  a  crescendo  of  passion  ; 
she  seemed  to  leap  into  them ;  they  were 
like  lightning  flashes,  startling  in  their  in- 
tensity and  brilliancy,  convincing  because 
of  the  inherent  dramatic  force  behind  them, 
but  unsatisfying  because  of  the  inartistic 
way  in  which  they  were  broached.  Matters 
on  the  stage  seemed  to  be  moving  along  in 
a  mildly  interesting  fashion,  when  unex- 
pectedly, without  warning,,  came  one  of 
those  Arthur  flashes  that  set  the  nerves  to 
tingling.  Miss  Arthur  had  dramatic  power 
in   abundance   at   such   times.     She   under- 


170        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

stood  and  was  able  to  impress  forcibly  the 
elementals  in  human  nature;  she  sounded 
with  positiveness  the  simpler  tragic  notes, 
scorn  and  hatred.  Despair,  as  an  element, 
did  not  entirely  escape  her,  but,  strangely 
enough,  she  did  not  seem  to  be  able  to 
depict  a  woman's  despair. 

After  Miss  Arthur  made  up  her  mind 
to  try  herself  in  Shakespearian  roles, 
she  naturally  enough  first  essayed  Rosa- 
lind in  "As  You  Like  It."  Her  Rosalind 
proved  to  be  a  strikingly  original  concep- 
tion, abounding  in  a  peculiarly  sardonic 
humour  and  lacking  in  pure  poetic  senti- 
ment. It  has  been  extravagantly  praised 
—  some  comparing  it  to  the  Rosalind  of 
Adelaide  Neilson  —  and  it  has  been  extrav- 
agantly blamed.  Perhaps  as  fair  an  esti- 
mate of  her  impersonation  as  any  was  that 
of  Henry  Austin  Clapp,  who  said : 

"The  most  striking  peculiarity  of  Miss 
Arthur's  Rosalind  is  its  avoidance  of  nearly 


JULIA    ARTHUR 
As  Rosalind  in  "  As  You  Like  It  ** 


Julia  Arthur,  171 

every  manifestation  of  mirthful  ebulliency  OJ^^^ 
and  effusion.  She  laughs  seldonij^j-^  almost  / 
not  at  jLJl,  indeed, -—and  ^inthis^  defies  the 
best  held  theories  of  the  part.  Shake- 
speare's heroine  is  essentially  refined,  but 
she  is  robust  of  temperament  and  a  hearty, 
persistent  lover  and  practiser  of  frolic.  For 
this  well-established  scheme  Miss  Arthur 
substitutes  her  own,  with  a  perfectly  definite 
effect  upon  the  spectator  and  auditor.  Her 
Rosalind  is  sweet  and  gentle  emotionally; 
intellectually,  she  is  distinguished,  shrewd, 
and,  above  all  things,  piquant.  A  fine  arch- 
ness, a  distinct  reserve,  a  temperamental 
coolness,  a  great  gift  in  insinuation  instead 
of  a  splendid  frankness  of  statement,  are 
combined  with  effect.'* 

There  is  a  tradition  that  Juliet  was  one  of 
Miss  Arthur's  earlier  impersonations.  Cer- 
tain it  is  that  her  Juliet  seems  in  all  particu- 
lars a  mature  conception.  There  are  many 
moments   of  great   beauty   in    her  reading. 


1/2         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

The  last  half  of  the  drama  she  plays  with 
increasing  dramatic  force  that  culminates  in 
a  death  scene  of  touching  delicacy  and  pa- 
thetic import,  a  death  so  free  from  horror 
that  it  is  difficult  to  realise  how  full  of 
horror  and  raving  it  might  be.  She  also  has 
moments  of  quiet  intensity  and  moments  of 
sincere  emotion  that  force  home  powerfully 
the  cruel  fate  that  is  bearing  so  remorse- 
lessly on  the  lovely  Veronese. 

However,  Miss  Arthur,  with  all  her  mar- 
vellous beauty,  with  all  her  natural  equip- 
ment of  passionate  power,  is  not  an  inspired 
Juliet.  Her  grasp  on  the  poetry  of  the  r61e 
is  weak,  and  her  limitation  of  temperament 
or  narrowness  of  conception  permit  her  to 
fill  only  here  and  there  the  full  measure  of 
Juliet's  character.  Unfortunately,  she  never 
displays  any  great  sustained  emotion  nor 
strikes  even  ever  so  faintly  the  note  of 
tragic  genius.  Following  tradition  closely 
at  all  times,  she  too  often  allows  her  act^ 


Julia  Arthur.  173 

ing    to    become    monotonous    and    without 
colour. 

In  the  balcony  scene  she  was  surprisingly 
effective.  It  was  acted  without  a  touch  of 
coquetry  and  with  none  of  the  maidenly 
modesty  that  speaks  and  retracts  and 
speaks  again.  JjiUet  was  made  a  woman' 
telling  frankly,  passionately  of  her  love,  and 
planning  deliberately  and  without  shame  her 
clandestine  marriage.  The  meeting  with 
Romeo  in  Friar  Laurence's  cell  was  an- 
other fine  moment,  and  there  was  much 
pathos  in  her  acting  of  the  quarrel  scene 
between  father  and  daughter.  The  casting 
aside  of  the  nurse,  when  she  advised  the 
marriage  with  Paris,  was  also  well  conceived. 
The  potion  scene  passed  quietly,  with  a  com- 
mendable absence  of  heroics  and  without 
ranting.  Indeed,  Miss  Arthur  was  always 
artistic  in  the  matter  of  suppression,  and 
$he  never  tore  a  passion  to  tatters. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

MAY    IRWIN. 

May  Irwin  is  a  personality  rather  than  an 
artist,  an  entertainer  more  than  an  actress. 
Her  career  has  vacillated  between  the  variety- 
stage  and  the  legitimate,  until  at  last  she 
has  become  identified  with  that  hybrid  species 
of  the  theatrical  amusement  called  farce- 
comedy.  Miss  Irwin  is  a  famous  fun-maker ; 
of  jolly,  rotund  figure,  and  with  a  face  that 
reflects  the  gaiety  of  nations,  she  is  the  per- 
sonification of  humour  and  careless  mirth, 
a  female  Falstaff,  as  it  were,  whose  sixteenth 
century  grossness  and  ribaldry  has  been 
refined  and  recast  in  a  nineteenth  century 
mould.  The  old  saying,  "  Laugh  and  the 
world  laughs  with  you,"  fits  her  perfectly, 
174 


May  Irwin,  1 75 

for  no  one  apparently  gets  any  more  enjoy- 
ment from  her  jests  than  does  she  herself. 
Her  good  nature  is  infinite  and  her  buoyancy 
of  spirits  irrepressible.  Her  good-fellowship 
is  infectious,  and  she  has  a  great  facility  for 
getting  on  intimate  terms  with  her  audi- 
ences, making  herself,  for  the  time  being, 
the  personal  friend  of  every  man,  woman,  and 
child  in  the  theatre  the  instant  that  she 
appears  on  the  stage ;  and  hers  is  a  whole- 
souled,  generous  friendship,  even  if  on  the 
verge  of  Bohemia. 

May  Irwin  was  born  in  Whitby,  a  little 
town  in  Ontario,  Canada,  about  twenty 
miles  from  Toronto,  and  she  lived  there 
until  she  went  on  the  stage.  When  she 
was  only  eight  years  old  she  was  the 
soprano  in  the  Episcopal  church  choir  in 
her  native  village.  "  Singing  came  naturally 
to  me,"  she  said.  "My  voice  never  had 
any  cultivation.  I  harmonised  as  naturally 
as  I  talked,  my  voice  was  naturally  placed. 


1^6        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

and  I  produced  tones  by  the  law  breathing 
taught  me,  not  by  any  other  rule.  All 
through  my  childhood  I  sang  in  all  the 
cantatas  and  such  folly  that  is  a  part  of 
going  to  school." 

May  and  her  sister  Flora  made  their  debut 
on  the  variety  stage  in  Buffalo,  New  York, 
when  they  were  little  tots  in  short  dresses. 
That  was  in  December,  1875,  and  the  salary 
that  they  received  was  thirty  dollars  a  week. 
The  first  thing  they  sang  was  "  Sweet  Gene- 
vieve." Poor  Flo  was  so  nervous  that  after 
it  was  over  she  fainted  away,  and  May  had 
to  sing  the  encore  alone,  which  she  did  with 
all  the  assurance  in  the  world.  In  fact,  I  do 
not  believe  that  May  Irwin  could  faint  if  she 
tried.  Engagements  in  variety  theatres  on 
a  circuit  that  included  Cleveland,  St.  Louis, 
and  Cincinnati  followed,  and  then  the  chil- 
dren did  their  first  sketch,  which  was  called 
"On  Board  the  Mary  Jane."  Their  third 
season  found  them  at  Tony  Pastor's  in  New 


May  Irwin,  177 

York,  and  how  that  came  about  Miss  Irwin 
tells  as  follows : 

"  It  was  a  great  thing  for  us,  for  Pastor's 
was  the  Mecca  of  all  ambitious  variety  per- 
formers, —  it  was  like  heaven  to  the  pious. 
Just  to  get  to  Tony  Pastor's  and  be  happy 
was  in  the  mind  of  every  struggling  variety 
artist  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land. 
Our  engagement  came  about  in  this  way. 
We  were  appearing  in  Detroit.  It  was  late 
in  the  season  of  id>y6-yy.  We  had  been 
engaged  for  two  weeks,  and  had  been  so 
successful  that  we  stayed  six.  Tony  Pastor's 
company  was  on  tour,  making,  even  in  the 
cities,  one  night  stands.  On  the  day  the 
company  reached  Detroit  we  had  a  matinee, 
and  Pastor  came  to  see  us.  He  left  town 
that  night  to  go  on  to  the  next  stand,  and 
he  wired  back  to  us,  *  Could  you  open  in 
New  York  at  my  theatre  September  13th.? 
Wire  terms.'  Could  we  "^  Weren't  we  just 
crazy  to .?   Sister  and  I  sat  up  all  that  night 


173        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

talking  about  it.  Seemed  'sif  we  were  to  go 
to  sleep  that  engagement  might  get  away. 
It  didn't,  and  we  made  our  d^but  in  New 
York,  September  13,  1877,  —  pretty  good 
for  two  children.  We  stayed  there  seven 
years.  We  were  engaged  for  sixty  dollars  a 
week,  and  at  the  end  of  our  connection  there 
we  were  getting  eighty  dollars.  It  was  a 
small  salary  compared  with  what  is  paid  now, 
and  I  realised  it  was  small  then  for  what  we 
did.  Our  first  sketch  was  *  A  Rural  Stroll,' 
which  we  played  for  four  years.  I  own 
that  it  was  great  training,  for  we  had  to 
keep  our  sketch  right  up  to  the  times.  In 
addition  to  my  turn  with  Flo,  I  used  to 
do  the  leads  in  the  burlesque  which 
always  wound  up  the  evening,  and  those 
burlesques  were  not  written  out,  you 
know.  I  used  just  to  get  instructions,  so 
to  speak,  and  go  on  and  carry  them  out. 
It's  great  training,  throws  you  on  your  own 
resources    so.       Why,    I    played    everything 


May  Irwin,  179 

from    babes    in    arms  —  fact  —  to    decrepit 
old  women." 

Then  came  the  most  remarkable  event  in 
Miss  Irwin's  theatrical  experience,  her  jump 
from  variety  at  Tony  Pastor's  to  the  classic 
atmosphere  of  Augustin  Daly's  temple  of 
dramatic  art.  "Oh,  I  was  ambitious,"  Miss 
Irwin  declared,  when  asked  how  it  happened, 
"and  in  an  ambitious  person's  career  all 
advances  seem  like  heavens  —  like  the  Bud- 
dhists, you  see,  we  have  a  series  of  heavens. 
Mrs.  Gilbert  and  Miss  Rehan  used  to  come 
to  Tony  Pastor's  very  often,  and  finally  we 
were  playing  in  Chicago  at  one  theatre  while 
Daly's  company  was  playing  at  Hooley's,  and 
Richard  Dorney  came  up  to  see  me  one  day 
and  asked  me  if  I  would  like  to  join  Daly's. 
Would  I }  Well,  you  could  not  have  kept  me 
from  it  the  moment  the  door  was  opened. 
The  very  next  morning  I  met  Mr.  Daly  by 
appointment  and  signed  for  three  years.  At 
the  end  of  that  time  I  reengaged,  but  only 


i8o         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

stayed  another  year,  —  four  in  all.  It  was 
very  legitimate  and  delightful,  but  it  was 
not  profitable,  and  when  an  offer  of  three 
times  my  Daly  salary  came,  just  to  do  a 
single  turn  with  the  Boston  Howard  Athe- 
naeum Star  Specialty  Company,  —  well,  I 
couldn't  resist  it." 

Miss  Irwin  has  distinct  remembrances  of 
her  first  rehearsal  at  Daly's.  She  had  been 
accustomed  so  long  to  the  free  and  easy  way 
of  doing  things  at  Pastor's  that  she  had  quite 
forgotten  what  discipline  meant.  The  play 
was  Pinero's  "Boys  and  Girls,"  and  Miss 
Irwin  was  cast  for  a  maiden  lady  about 
thirty-five  years  old.  She  went  to  rehear- 
sal with  her  lines  nicely  memorised  and  her 
ideas  of  how  the  part  should  be  played  firmly 
fixed.     This  is  how  she  tells  the  story : 

"  Now,  I  had  to  go  on  just  after  the  cur- 
tain went  up.  I  was  supposed  to  smell  an 
odour  of  burned  fish,  and  Mr.  Daly's  direc- 
tions to  me  were  to  come  down,  sniff,  look 


May  Invin,  i8i 

around  and  sniff  harder.  I  at  once  objected 
right  out  loud.  *Why,  no,'  I  said,  'that 
would  be  absurd.  I  should  never  look 
around  for  a  moment.  I  should  go  straight 
to  the  fireplace,  where  the  smell  came  from, 
of  course.  Why,  Mr.  Daly,  do  you  suppose 
if  I  smelled  something  burning  in  my  flat  I 
wouldn't  know  enough  to  go  to  the  range  t  * 
"The  Guv'nor  —  that's  what  we  called  him 
—  must  have  been  thunderstruck  ;  every  one 
else  was  ;  for  the  slow  voice  in  which  he  said, 
*  Miss  Irwin,  I  don't  allow  this,'  was  the  least 
bit  choky.  I  saw  what  I  had  done,  of  course. 
*Very  well,'  I  said,  'I'll  try  it  your  way.' 
And  I  did  try,  but  I  couldn't  do  it.  I  knew 
I  was  right,  and  he  was  wrong,  or  I  thought 
I  did,  which  is  just  the  same  thing,  and  this 
square  jaw  of  mine  just  wouldn't  let  me. 
However,  time  after  time  we  went  over  it. 
I  think  we  must  have  done  it  twenty  times, 
and  then  it  was  not  much  nearer  what  he 
wanted,  but  at  last  we  went  on. 


1 82        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

"Well,  we  reached  in  a  few  days  the  sec- 
ond act,  and  at  once  struck  a  familiar  snag. 
The  Guv'nor  was  sitting  down  in  the  audi- 
torium, and  his  solemn  voice  informed  me, 
'  Not  in  the  least  like  it ! '  *  Well,  I'll  -try 
again,*  and  I  did.  Then  up  to  me  came  the 
remark,  '  I  wonder  where  you  have  left  your 
intelligence  this  morning/  It  was  the  last 
straw.  I  had  never  been  spoken  to  like  that 
in  my  life.  And  before  all  the  company  !  I 
tried  to  take  a  brace,  but  I  could  not,  so 
I  broke  down  and  blubbered.  It  was  the 
first  time  I  ever  did  such  a  thing. 

"  *  Go  on,'  said  the  inexorable  voice,  but  I 
could  only  sob,  'Well,  now,  I  guess  you'll 
have  to  wait  for  me  ! '  '  Very  well ;  skip  that 
and  go  on,'  and  I  retired  to  a  dark  corner 
and  cried  as  if  my  heart  were  broken. 
Pretty  soon  Daly  hunted  me  up.  'Come, 
come,'  said  he,  'you  mustn't  do  this.  I 
treat  all  my  people  alike.  If  you  don't  do 
well,  you,  as  well  as  I,  will  be  criticised.     It 


May  Irwin.  183 

is  for  your  sake  as  much  as  for  mine.'  And 
that  was  the  last  encounter  of  that  kind  that 
we  ever  had.  It  did  not  take  me  long  to 
understand  that  Mr.  Daly  knew  more  than 
I  did,  and  to  learn  that  to  follow  him  was 
to  make  a  hit." 

While  with  the  Howard  Athenaeum  Com- 
pany the  Irwin  sisters,  as  May  and  Flo  were 
billed,  produced  John  J.  McNally*s  first  dra- 
matic work,  a  sketch  called  "  Home  Rule." 
During  the  summer  of  1888,  Miss  Irwin 
played  on  the  Pacific  coast,  acting  Martha  in 
Richard  Golden's  "Jed  Prouty"  company. 
Another  year  with  the  Howard  Athenaeum 
Company  followed,  and  then  Miss  Irwin 
became  a  member  of  Russell's  "The  City 
Directory "  company,  perhaps  the  finest 
farce  comedy  organisation  that  was  ever 
gotten  together.  In  1891  she  joined  Charles 
Frohman's  forces,  appearing  with  Henry  Mil- 
ler in  "The  Junior  Partner"  and  after  that 
in  a  burlesque   called  "The  Poet   and  thQ 


184        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

Puppets."  It  was  in  this  burlesque  that 
she  introduced  to  the  public  the  famous 
song,  "After  the  Ball/'  At  an  after-the- 
theatre  supper  in  her  room  she  heard  Alex- 
ander Martinetti  pick  out  the  air  on  a  guitar. 
The  melody  pleased  her,  and  she  had  him 
write  it  down  and  fit  some  words  to  it.  Mr. 
Frohman  was  opposed  to  her  singing  a  senti- 
mental song  in  a  burlesque,  but  he  yielded 
to  persuasion  and  let  her  try  it.  The  song 
was  a  great  hit. 

After  "  The  Poet  and  the  Puppets  "  Miss 
Irwin  became  associated  with  Peter  F.  Dailey 
in  McNally*s  farce,  "The  Country  Sport." 
For  the  last  three  seasons  she  has  starred, 
producing  first  Mr.  McNally's  farce-comedy, 
"The  Widow  Jones,'*  and  incidentally  mak- 
ing herself  famous  through  her  "  coon " 
songs  and  the  broad  humour  and  great  unc- 
tion that  she  put  into  her  "rag-time,"  that 
latter-day  syncopated  musical  freak,  whose 
father  is  the  old-time  "  nigger  "  minstrel.  Her 


May  Irwin.  185 

first  "rag-time'*  was  "The  Bully/'  in  which 
she  made  great  sport  by  bringing  a  little 
coloured  boy  on  the  stage  with  her.  Miss 
Irwin  says  the  way  to  learn  to  sing  "rag- 
time '*  is  to  catch  a  negro  and  study  him. 

"  I  heard  during  one  of  my  summer  vaca- 
tions," she  continued,  "some  particularly 
catchy  music  sung  by  negroes  working  at 
the  hotel  where  I  was  stopping.  The  idea 
occurred  to  me  to  try  it  myself.  I  did  try 
it,  and  I  failed.  After  successive  failures  I 
decided  to  find  out  from  headquarters  how 
it  was  sung,  and  I  gave  a  reception  to  that 
coloured  musical  talent.  That  was  the  best 
social  investment  I  ever  made.  By  keeping 
everlastingly  at  it,  I  finally  discovered  that 
the  rag-time  was  obtained,  not  by  the  voice, 
but  by  the  instrument.  With  the  negroes 
it  had  been  the  result  of  the  use  of  the 
<  thumbstring '  on  the  banjo,  by  thrumming 
which  there  was  produced  the  effect  of  a 
weird  chant.     The  fact  that  the  negroes  are 


l86        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

so  successful  in  the  singing  of  *  rag-time '  is 
because  they  have  learned  to  sing  to  this 
very  sort  of  an  accompaniment/' 

In  the  fall  of  1 897  Miss  Irwin  brought  out 
"The  Swell  Miss  Fitzwell,"  which  she  fol- 
lowed last  season  with  another  farce-comedy, 
«  Kate  Kip,  Buyer/' 


EFFIE    SHANNON 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

EFFIE    SHANNON. 

Effie  Shannon,  who  for  several  seasons 
has  starred  with  Herbert  Kelcey  in  Clyde 
Fitches  ''The  Moth  and  The  Flame/'  in 
which  she  played  the  leading  jemotjonal 
character^  first  attracted  attention  as  the 
ingenue  of  Daniel  Frohman's  Lyceum  Thea- 
tre Company,  in  the  days  when  Georgia 
Cayvan  and  Mr.  Kelcey  were  the  chief 
actors,  and  Fritz  Williams  the  youthful  come- 
dian of  that  organisation,  and  when  such 
sentimental  plays  as  "The  Wife*'  and  "The 
Charity  Ball "  were  considered  the  height 
of  artistic  dramatic  achievement.  Miss 
Shannon,  although  her  name  is  good,  honest 

Irish,  is  a  genuine  Yankee.     Her  father  was 
187 


1 88         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

a  native  of  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire, 
and  her  mother  was  born  in  Haverhill,  Mas- 
sachusetts. Miss  Shannon  herself  claims 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  as  her  birthplace, 
and  there  she  lived  when  she  received  her 
iJ^^  initiation  into  stage  life  as  a  child  actress  in 
several  of  the  Boston  theatres.  Her  debut 
was  made  in  John  McCullough's  revival  of 
"  Coriolanus  ''  at  the  Boston  Theatre.  All 
that  she  remembers  of  this  performance 
was  the  fact  that  she  appeared  with  many 
others,  and  threw  wreaths  in  front  of  the 
triumphant  hero.  "  It  was  a  pleasant  expe- 
rience, however,''  Miss  Shannon  added,  "  and 
it  gave  me  a  taste  of  the  life  in  which  I  have 
found  so  much  enjoyment.'' 

Her  second  character  was  Eva  in  "  Uncle 
Tom's  Cabin,"  which  she  played  at  the 
Howard  Athenaeum  in  Boston,  then  under 
the  management  of  the  late  John  Stetson. 
James  S.  Maffit,  the  pantomimist,  afterward 
so  long  identified  with  the  character  of  the 


Effie  Shannon.  189 

Lone  Fisherman  in  "Evangeline"  was  the 
Lawyer  Marks.  Luke  Martin  was  the  Legree, 
and  Mrs.  Morse,  who  was  one  01  the  actors 
in  the  original  production  of  the  first  drama- 
tisation of  Mrs.  Stowe*s  novel,  played  Aunt 
Ophelia.  The  company,  on  the  conclusion 
of  the  Boston  engagement,  toured  New 
England. 

"  I  shall  never  forget  the  feeling  of  pride 
which  I  experienced  when  I  saw  the  bills  of 
that  production  of  *  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,'*' 
Miss  Shannon  remarked.  '"There  in  big 
letters  could  be  read,  '  Eva,  La  Petite  Shan- 
non.' And  I  would  stand  in  front  of  the 
bill-boards  for  hours,  reading  and  re-reading 
my  own  name,  wondering  why  larger  crowds 
were  not  attracted  by  those  delightful 
letters." 

A  little  later  Miss  Shannon  appeared 
in  children's  parts  with  Lawrence  Barrett 
at  the  Boston  Museum,  and  she  was  also 
in  the  children's  production  of  "Pinafore" 


I  go         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

at    the   same   theatre,  regarding  which    she 
tells  the  following  amusing  story : 

"I  was  merely  one  of  the  sisters  and 
cousins  and  aunts,  because  my  singing  voice 
was  never  phenomenal,  and  although  I 
served  as  understudy  to  some  of  the  other 
girls  I  never  had  an  opportunity  to  appear. 
Do  you  remember  that  cast  ?  There  was 
Ida  Miille,  the  Josephine,  and  then  Fritz 
Williams  was  the  Sir  Joseph  Porter,  and 
how  we  girls  adored  him !  ^  There  was  not 
a  tot  in  that  chorus  who  was  not  madly  in 
^^>^'  love  with  the  Admiral  as  he  strutted  around 
the  stage  in  all  the  dignity  of  his  position/  I 
remember  very  well  how  I  brought  my  auto- 
graph album  for  him  to  write  in,  and  how  he 
scrawled  in  his  round,  boyish  hand,  *I  am 
the  monarch  of  the  sea.  Fritz  Williams.' 
In  later  years,  when  Mr.  Williams  and  I  were 
members  of  the  Lyceum  Company  in  New 
York,  I  produced  that  autograph  album  and 
confronted  him  with  it.    It  was  the  first  time 


Effie  Shannon,  191 

that  he  had  suspected  that  we  had  ever  been 
in  the  same  company  before,  and  he  was 
greatly  surprised  as  he  exclaimed,  *  Were  you 
that  little  yellow-haired  girl  ? '  and  I  admitted 
that  I  was/' 

When  the  "  Pinafore  "  run  came  to  an  end 
Miss  Shannon's  mother  took  her  to  New 
York,  where  she  received  her  education.  Her 
first  appearance  in  adult  parts  was  with  a 
company  playing  "  The  Silver  King."  Then 
she  travelled  with  Robert  Mantell,  after 
which  she  was  with^the  Daly  company  for 
a  year  and  a  half.  This  proved  an  excellent 
school  for  her,  but,  iji  common  with  other 
talented  players  who  have  been  members  of- 
tha,t  company,  she  was  given  few  chances  to 
demonstrate  her  ability,  f  From  Daly's  she 
went  to  the  New  York  Lyceum  Theatre,  and 
there  met  with  her  greatest  successes.  As 
the  romp,  Kittie  Ives,  in  "The  Wife,"  and 
as  the  piquant,  saucy  Kate  in  "The  Idler," 
she   showed   the   genuine   soubrette   talent, 


192         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

while  as  Bess  in  "The  Charity  Ball"  she 
combined  with  it  that  sweet,  sympathetic 
quality  that  the  French  termed  "ingenue.** 
In  1893  Miss  Shannon  joined  Rose  Cogh- 
lan's  company,  playing  Dora  in  "Diplomacy,** 
a  role  of  which  she  is  very  fond.  After 
that  she  was  with  Mrs.  Lily  Langtry  in  her 
unfortunate  production  of  "The  City  of 
Pleasure,"  and  her  next  engagement  was  in 
support  of  Olga  Nethersole.  Then  came 
her  starring  tour  with  Mr.  Kelcey,  after  the 
successful  run  of  "The  Moth  and  the 
Flame"  in  New  York  City. 


MRS.    LESLIE    CARTER 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

MRS.    LESLIE    CARTER. 

Mrs.  Leslie  Carter's  stage  career  began 
on  November  lo,  1890,  when  she  made  her 
debut  in  New  York  in  "The  Ugly  Duckling." 
Since  that  time  she  has  publicly  acted  just 
three  parts,  the  Quakeress  in  "Miss  Hel- 
yett,"  Maryland  Calvert  in  "The  Heart  of 
Maryland,"  and  Zaza  in  "  Zaza,"  and  yet  at 
present  she  is  accounted  one  of  the  leading 
actresses  on  the  American  stage.  Surely 
this  is  a  record  unique  in  theatrical  history. 
'Let  it  not  be  thought,  however,  that  Mrs. 
Carter's  stage  life  has  been  all  cakes  and 
ale.  Far  from  it.  Nine  years  of  hard  work 
and  constant  study  lie  behind  her,  and  while 
she  has  publicly  acted  only  four  charac- 
193 


1 94         Famous  A  dresses .  of  the  Day, 

ters,  she  has  thoroughly  prepared  and  pri- 
vately played  time  and  time  again  over  a 
score  of  parts. 

Mrs.  Carter's  phenomenal  success  is  due 
to  the  professional  skill,  critical  judgment 
and  untiring  efforts  of  Mr.  David  Belasco, 
who  took  charge  of  her  dramatic  training 
just  before  her  appearance  in  "The  Ugly 
Duckling."  When  he  accepted  her  as  a 
pupil,  Mr.  Belasco  showed  the  keenest  acu- 
men. At  that  time  Mrs.  Carter  seemed  to 
have  but  few  of  the  physical  advantages  that 
one  associates  with  success  on  the  stage. 
Indeed,  it  might  be  said  that  her  only  favour- 
able point  apparent  at  first  sight  was  her 
hair,  wonderfully  heavy  and  a  fiery  red,  that 
framed  her  pale  face  in  a  burning  halo.  Per- 
haps Mr.  Belasco  noted  her  eyes,  deeply  gray 
and  serious;  possibly  he  was  attracted  by 
the  expressive  play  of  her  features,  or  may- 
hap he  pinned  faith  on  that  firmly  set 
mouth   and    stern   lower  jaw.     However   it 


Mrs.  Leslie  Carter,  105 

came  about,  the  contract  was  made,  and 
Mrs.  Carter  gave  herself  unreservedly  into 
her  trainer's  keeping.  She  became  for  all 
practical  purposes  Mr.  Belasco's  willing  slave. 
Mrs.  Carter's  work  in  "The  Ugly  Duck- 
ling "  was  plainly  that  of  a  novice.  "  Crude 
but  full  of  promise,"  was  how  Mr.  Belasco 
characterised  it,  and  it  may  be  said  that 
he  was  sanguine  rather  than  otherwise.  "I 
shall  never  forget  the  first  night  I  played," 
said  Mrs.  Carter,  in  describing  her  debut. 
/  "  I  stood  like  a  dummy  waiting  for  my  time 
to  come  for  walking  on  the  stage,  and  when 
that  soft,  swelling  music  that  heralded  my 
^'^  approach  reached  my  ears  didn't  I  wish  to 
die  right  there!  ^  I  stood  as  if  chained 
to  where  I  was  until  it  was  almost  past 
the  time.  Douglas  Oakley,  the  hero  in 
*  The  Ugly  Duckling,'  said :  *  Kate,  bonnie 
Kate ! '  as  he  lay  on  the  hearth  looking  at 
my  picture,  —  not  my  own  real  picture,  of 
course.     Then  Mr.  Belasco  said,  '  Move  now 


196        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

or  the  play  is  ruined/  You  may  be  sure  I 
felt  far  from  being  a  *  bonnie  Kate  ! '  The 
clapping  of  hands  brought  me  to  my  senses 
and  then  I  warmed  to  my  work.  Somehow 
or  other  the  very  naturalness  of  the  first 
incidents  helped  to  reassure  me." 

"Miss  Helyett/'  which  followed,  was  a 
musical  comedy,  and  in  it  Mrs.  Carter  really 
met  with  much  success.  It  was  an  awkward 
little  part,  demure  and  quiet.  She  continued 
with  it,  improving  constantly,  until  March, 
1 893,  when  she  closed  her  season  in  Kansas 
City  and  disappeared.  No  one  knew  what 
had  become  of  her ;  in  fact,  no  one  cared 
very  much,  and  when,  in  October,  1895,  she 
emerged  from  her  retirement  to  make  an 
astonishing  success  in  Mr.  Belasco's  play, 
"The  Heart  of  Maryland,"  the  surprise  was 
complete.  What  Mrs.  Carter  did  during 
that  mysterious  year  and  a  half,  which  was 
passed  in  her  New  York  apartments  at  6^ 
Clinton  Place,  is  best  related  in  her  own  words. 


Mrs,  Leslie  Carter.  197 

"  Ah,  yes,  I  was  a  crude  beginner  in  <  Miss 
Helyett,'  yet  before  I  got  through  with  that 
rdle  I  had  learned  a  great  deal.  One  thing 
I  did  obtain  was  muscular  control.  It  gave 
me  equipoise,  repose.  OBut  it  was  during  my 
retirement  that  I  began  to  study  with  brain 
and  will.  In  that  time  I  went  through  fifty- 
eight  plays  with  Mr.  Belascorj  I  set  my 
teeth  and  always  kept  before  me  the  play 
he  was  writing  around  me,  so  to  speak,  and 
I  was  determined  nothing  should  dash  my 
energies.  I  would  rehearse  every  phase  of 
an  emotion,  until  I  could  portray  it  with 
more  or  less  facility. 

"  How  were  all  my  little  rehearsals  at 
home  conducted  t  Ah,  they  were  pretty  sad 
at  times.  Mr.  Belasco  would  select  a  r61e, 
talk  with  me  upon  it,  make  suggestions,  an- 
swer questions,  and  then  leave  me  to  work 
it  out.  I  would  not  see  him,  probably,  for  a 
week  or  ten  days.  Meanwhile,  I  acted  and 
reacted,  and  posed  and  posed,  and  worked 


198        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

often  with  one  single  gesture  or  one  single 
vocal  inflection  for  half  a  day  at  a  time. 
One  thing  I  always  did  attend  to,  I  never 
forsook  the  weak  place  to  return  to  it  again. 
I  went  on  to  nothing  else  until  I  had  in  some 
sensible  way  conquered  the  difficulty.  And 
this  was  where  I  found  the  horrible  discour- 
agement of  dramatic  technique.  If  you  write 
or  if  you  sew,  you  see  the  result  of  your  labour 
before  your  eyes ;  you  are  buoyed  up  in  your 
work  by  visible  encouragement.  In  dramatic 
study  you  go  over  and  over  and  see  nothing 
for  so  long  for  your  slavish  repetition  and 
expenditure  of  energy.  You  know  simply 
you  are  aiming  at  something  and  you  are 
not  getting  it.  But,  after  awhile,  I  found 
out  about  that.  It  comes  at  once.  Before 
you  stop  to  realise,  there  is  a  lesson  accom- 
plished; it  becomes  a  spontaneous  effort. 
You  don't  think  any  more  of  control.  The 
action  is  part  of  yourself  when  merged  in 
that  role,  and  performs  itself  unconsidered. 


Mrs.  Leslie  Carter,  199 

"After  my  days  of  work  alone,  Mr.  Be- 
lasco  would  come  in  the  evening,  and  then 
the  chairs  and  tables  were  swept  away,  and 
we  had  a  stage.  He  read  the  other  parts 
and  I  rehearsed  my  role.  Nine  times  out  of 
ten  I  was  all  wrong  at  my  first  trial.  *  Not  a 
bit  like  it,*  Mr.  Belasco  would  say,  and  then, 
in  his  corrections  made  upon  my  practical 
study,  I  learned  my  valuable  lesson.  It  hurt 
sometimes,  but  when  I  set  to  study  on  the 
amended  plan  I  always  felt  I  had  achieved 
something  I  was  not  going  to  lose  again,  and 
I  realised  my  growing  strength. 

"  From  what  roles  do  I  consider  I  derived 
most  benefit }  There  are  two  uppermost  in 
my  mind.  First,  Beatrice,  by  all  means. 
Her  character  has  so  many  phases.  It 
seemed  to  embrace  almost  everything  I 
needed.  I  lived  with  Beatrice  and  thought 
with  her,  and  made  her  moods  my  own,  and 
then  failed  with  her  on  my  mimic  stage 
when   Mr.   Belasco   rehearsed  me  at  night. 


200        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

and  went  back  again  and  conceived  another 
Beatrice  in  this  mood,  and  yet  another  Bea- 
trice in  that,  and  changed  my  ideal  a  dozen 
times,  always  working  faithfully  on  the  new 
until  at  last  Mr.  Belasco  approved  me  in  the 
part  as  a  whole.  No  study,  however,  no 
practice  technically  legitimate,  is  lost  even 
where  the  ideal  be  fictitious.  You  gain 
flexibility  in  a  detail  which  will  fit  in  else- 
where. Leah  is  the  other  role  which  did  won- 
ders for  me  in  the  mastery  of  the  stronger 
emotions.  Those  long  speeches  of  hers  em- 
brace a  volume  of  lessons,  and  after  these  two 
characters  I  have  no  special  identification  of 
improvement  with  the  others.  They  brought 
about  a  general  advancement." 

Mrs.  Carter  played  Maryland  Calvert  in 
this  country  for  three  seasons,  and  then 
appeared  in  London  in  the  same  character, 
opening  at  the  Adelphi  Theatre,  April  9,  f  898. 
Her  success  there  was  all  that  could  be  de- 
sired, the  play  running  for  145  performances. 


Mrs,  Leslie  Carter,  201 

"Zaza,"  in  which  Mrs.  Carter  achieved 
such  a  triumph  last  season,  was  produced 
in  Washington,  December  26,  1898,  and  the 
dramatic  critics  of  the  capital  immediately 
described  the  play  as  a  masterpiece,  and 
named  the  actress  "  the  American  Berrj- 
hardt.*'  "  Zaza "  was  originally  a  French 
drama  written  by  Simon  and  Berton  for 
Rejane,  by  whom  it  was  brought  out  at  the 
Vaudeville  Theatre,  Paris.  The  English 
version  is  by  Mr.  Belasco,  who  succeeded 
in  the  difficult  task  of  ridding  the  work 
of  the  French  audaciousness  that  charac- 
terised it  in  the  original,  still  retaining  in 
full  the  play's  strong  dramatic  interest.  Mr. 
Belasco's  artistic  touch  was  sure  until  the 
last  act,  when  he  erred  for  the  sake  of  a 
happy  ending.  (.*'Zaza"  tells  the  pathetic  ^\ 
story  of  a  music  hall  actress,  who  rises  from 
a  depth  of  illicit  love  to  a  height  of  pure 
self-abnegation.  The  ethics  and  morality 
of  the  cjrama  have  been  widely  discussed, 


202         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

and,  as  usual,  the  points  raised  have  been 
answered  strictly  according  to  the  particular 
arguer*s  bias.  Mrs.  Carter's  role  calls  for 
emotional  acting  of  the  strongest  and  most 
varied  character,  and  there  has  been  no 
great  difference  of  opinion  regarding  the 
power  and  impressiveness  of  her  personation.) 
The  following  critique  is  that  of  Franklin 
Fyles  : 

"Good  stage  literature  as  the  play  was, 
and  almost  faultless  as  the  stage  craft  of 
its  representation  was  generally,  there  was 
one  thing  which  eclipsed  all  else  in  a 
triumph  seldom  equalled  in  a  theatre.  That 
portion  of  the  occasion's  success,  and  much 
the  largest  cause  of  it,  was  the  acting  of 
Mrs.  Leslie  Carter.  Not  since  Bernhardt 
was  here  had  New  York  seen  any  approach 
to  the  Bernhardt  kind  of  art  in  dramatic 
expression.  It  was  a  more  versatile  and 
varied  performance,  it  is  only  the  truth  to 
say,  than  any  other   American  player,  man 


Mf's.  Leslie  Carter,  203 

or  woman,  is  capable  of  giving.  Through 
the  first  act  Zaza  was  no  more  than  a 
wanton,  not  ashamed  of  herself,  because  she 
neither  knew  nor  cared  anything  about 
virtue.  The  place  was  behind  the  scenes 
of  a  variety  stage,  and  the  depiction  of  life 
in  the  purlieus  of  the  theatre  was  ruth- 
lessly illustrated.  In  it  the  low-bred  hero- 
ine figured  as  the  mischievous  enticer  of 
a  man.  In  the  next  act  she  was  shown 
with  him  in  a  home  of  forbidden  love,  happy 
in  her  faithfulness  to  him,  and  with  never 
a  thought  or  expectation  of  becoming  his 
wife.  In  the  third,  she  was  at  his  house 
in  Paris,  wild  at  first  with  the  desire  of 
retaliation  for  his  deception,  then  touched 
pitifully  by  the  sight  of  his  child  that  re- 
sembled him,  and  then  won  over  to  self- 
sacrificial  silence.  In  the  fourth,  she  was 
back  at  her  home,  well-nigh  crazed  by  grief, 
utterly  heart-broken,  changeful  of  purpose, 
clinging  desperately  to  a  belief  in  the  man's 


204         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

love  until  convinced  beyond  hope  that  he 
would  not  let  his  mistress  take  him  from 
his  wife,  and  then  madly  vehement  in  her 
denunciation  of  him.  It  was  at  this  climax 
that  the  assemblage  let  itself  loose  in  a 
tremendously  enthusiastic  demonstration. 

"What  Mrs.  Carter  had  done  to  warrant 
so  much  approbation  at  that  time  will  surely 
stand  the  severest  test  of  calmer  criticism, 
and  still  stand  as  proof  positive  of  genius. 
She  has  passed  from  farcical  moments  to 
those  of  the  deepest  emotion ;  from  heart- 
less coquetry  to  passionate  love ;  from  care- 
lessness to  despair,  and  all  with  equal  facility. 
In  none  of  the  sharply  contrasting  phases 
of  the  creature's  experience  had  she  lapsed 
a  moment  from  the  essential  attributes  of 
the  character.  Such  a  portrayal  could  have 
been  based  only  on  a  thorough  and  minute 
analysis  of  the  role  which  Mr.  Belasco  may 
have  made  for  her,  but  the  embodiment  of 
it  in  a  way  to  render  it  graphic  down  to  the 


Mrs,  Leslie  Carter,  205 

minutest  detail,  and  to  do  this  so  that 
laughter  and  tears  followed  each  other  as 
she  willed  them  to,  was  a  triumph  of  her 
own  genius.  She  had  advanced  steadily 
from  crudity  to  the  finest  of  artistic  success.*' 


^■ 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

MARY    SHAW. 

Mary  Shaw  had  long  been  considered 
one  of  the  finest  leading  women  in  this 
country,  when  she  made  the  greatest  success 
of  her  career  at  the  close  of  last  season  as 
Mrs.  Alving  in  John  Blair's  special  produc- 
tion of  Ibsen's  **  Ghosts  "  in  New  York  City. 
^'Ghosts/'  whatever  one  may  think  of  its 
morbidness  and  its  unpleasant  investigations 
into  medical  science,  is  certainly  one  of  the 
strongest  acting  dramas  known  to  the  mod- 
ern theatre,  and  its  characters  afford  opportu- 
nities for  wonderfully  effective  work  to  actors 
that  have  the  ability  and  training  to  realise 
them.  Miss  Shaw's  theatrical  experience 
has  been  wide-extended.  It  has  embraced 
206 


Mary  Shaw.  207 

many  of  the  chief  roles  of  the  classic  drama 
in  addition  to  numberless  parts  in  plays  of 
less  enduring  worth.  Her  talents,  too,  are 
of  an  exceptional  order.  They  found  in  the 
Ibsen  play  just  the  material  they  wanted, 
and  the  result  was  a  success  that  astonished 
even  her  most  enthusiastic  admirers,  who 
could  hardly  have  expected  so  much  from 
her  in  her  first  impersonation  of  an  Ibsen 
creation. 

Mrs.  Alving  is,  perhaps,  the  most  com- 
plete character  in  the  Ibsen  drama.  She 
.jsj^witliess  of,  rather  than  a  participant  in, 
the  sins  and  weaknesses  of  mankind.  Her 
life  is  devoted  to  concealing  from  public 
view  the  debaucheries  of  her  husband,  a 
libertine  of  the  vilest  sort,  with  the  result 
that  he  dies  universally  respected,  leaving 
a  son  to  inherit  all  the  father's  mental  and 
physical  diseases.  The  son,  ignorant  of  the 
evil  which  has  been  passed  down  to  him, 
returns  from  school  in  the  first  stages  of 


2o8        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

paresis,  imagining  that  his  health  has  failed 
because  of  overwork.  The  end  is  incurable 
madness,  for  the  mother,  at  the  last  moment, 
finds  herself  unable  to  administer  the  dose  of 
morphia  that  was  to  end  the  boy's  life  when 
his  mind  failed  entirely.  It  is  a  horrible 
play,  frightfully  depressing  in  its  fatalism, 
but  its  dramatic  strength  is  tremendous. 
("""Ibsen's  dramas  will  finally  be  made 
familiar  by  the  actors  because  they  afford 
such  opportunities  for  the  display  of  intelli- 
gence, power,  and  technical  skill  as  are  to 
be  found  in  hardly  any  other  plays  in  exist- 
ence,'* wrote  a  New  York  critic.  ."Hardly 
-^"X-  an  Ibsen  play  is  acted  in  New  York  without 
greatly  bettenng  the  reputation  of  some  one 
or  two  actors.  When  *  Ghosts '  was  first 
given,  a  few  years  ago,  it  revealed  Courtney 
Thorpe  as  the  paretic  son  in  a  wholly  new 
light  of  intellectual  capacity.  '  John  Gabriel 
Borkman '  revealed  Maude  Banks  as  very 
close  to  a  great  actress ;  Mrs.  Fiske's  nota- 


Mary  Shaw,  ^09 

ble  advance  in  power  was  first  shown  in  a 
matinee  of  *The  Doll's  House/  and  New 
York  had  its  only  test  of  the  talent  of 
Elizabeth  Robins  in  *  Hedda  Gabler.'  Last 
night  the  honours  fell  to  Mary  Shaw,  who 
has  long  been  known  as  one  of  the  most 
capable  actresses  on  our  stage,  but  whose 
Mrs.  Alving  shows  an  intellectual  grasp  of 
Ibsen^s  idea  and  a  command  of  resources 
of  expression  far  beyond  the  reach  of  any 
but  great  actresses.  As  the  chief  actor  of 
a  theatre  devoted  to  the  modern  intellectual 
drama,  Miss  Shaw  would  be  a  power." 

"  Miss  Shaw  gave  a  most  impressive  reve- 
lation of  Mrs.  Alving' s  general  competency 
as  a  woman,"  declared  Norman  Hapgood. 
"  In  the  scenes  with  the  pastor  she  had  a 
sweet  and  kindly  manner  of  looking  all 
around  him  and  sizing  him  up.  As  she 
stood  there  reducing  all  organised  society 
to  a  conventional  spectre,  she  looked  so 
beneficent  and  serious  that  the  woman  stood 


2  Id        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

out  far  above  her  rebellious  theories  and 
took  the  outlines  of  a  great  dramatic  figure." 
Mary  Shaw  comes  of  an  old  New  England 
family.  Her  father  is  Levi  W.  Shaw,  who 
is  connected  with  the  Inspection  of  Build- 
ings Department  of  the  city  of  Boston.  The 
family  originally  lived  in  Wolfboro,  N.  H., 
where  the  homestead,  now  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years  old,  still  stands,  and  Miss  Shaw 
has  in  her  possession  old  pewter  plates,  fam- 
ily heirlooms,  from  which  pieces  have  been 
cut  to  be  moulded  into  Colonial  bullets.  She 
was  born  and  educated  in  Boston,  graduated 
from  the  grammar  and  high  schools  of  that 
city,  and  before  she  went  on  the  stage  taught 
for  a  short  time  in  the  Boston  public  schools. 
Her  voice  gave  out  under  the  strain  of  school- 
room work,  and  that  led  her  to  study  elocu- 
tion, which  in  turn  directed  her  attention  to 
the  stage.  She  became  acquainted  with 
Annie  Clarke,  then  the  leading  lady  of  the 
Boston  Museum  Stock  Company,  and  through 


Mary  Shaw,  211 

her  she  met  R.  M.  Field,  the  manager  of  the 
Museum.  There  did  not  seem  to  be  any- 
opening  in  the  Museum  Company  at  that 
time,  however,  and,  armed  with  a  letter  of 
introduction  to  Dion  Boucicault  from  John 
Boyle  O'Reilly,  Miss  Shaw  went  to  New 
York.  She  was  not  successful  in  that  city, 
either,  and  she  returned  home  and  for  a  time 
satisfied  her  histrionic  ambition  by  appearing 
in  amateur  theatricals.  One  of  her  perform- 
ances in  this  line  was  Kate  Hardcastle  in 
"She  Stoops  to  Conquer,"  which  she  played 
in  the  vestry  of  the  East  Boston  Unitarian 
Church. 

Finally,  in  1879,  she  was  engaged  as  the 
Chorus  in  an  extravaganza  at  the  Boston 
Museum,  called  "A  Robisonade,"  and  her 
first  appearance  was  made  through  the  floor 
by  means  of  a  trap.  The  first  play  that  she 
appeared  in  was  a  revival  of  "Diplomacy," 
and  the  occasion  wa"  also  E.  H.  Sothern's 
first  night. 


212         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

"\5/je^had  two  small  parts/'  said  Miss 
Shaw,  recalling  the  incident.  "  He  was  a 
French  valet  and  I  the  maid,  and  we  had 
quite  a  little  scene  —  perhaps  ten  minutes. 
Eddie^entered  and  spoke  half  a  dozen  words, 
looked  at  me  wildly  for  a  moment,  and  then 
fairly  flew  from  the  stage.  I  meekly  fol- 
lowed him.  We  were  fined  five  dollars 
n,  ,  < '  apiece  and  retired  to  the  positions  of  walk- 
y  ing  gentleman  and  lady  for  some  time.  The 
next  time  we  were  entrusted  with  parts  was 
in  'Pippins,'  in  which  Eddie  did  so  well 
that  he  was  quite  restored  to  favour.  He 
was  a  dear  boy !  " 

Miss  Shaw  made  her  first  pronounced 
hit  at  the  Museum  in  a  play  called  "  A 
Midsummer  Madness."  She  was  advanced 
rapidly  in  the  company,  and,  to  use  her  own 
words,  "simply  played  everything."  After 
two  years  she  went  to  Augustin  Daly's  com- 
pany in  New  York,  securing  this  engage- 
ment    through     Fanny    Davenport,    whom 


Mary  Shaw.  213 

Miss    Shaw   supported   at    the   Museum    in 
''Pique." 

"Miss  Davenport  met  me  after  the  play, 
in  the  wings,"  Miss  Shaw  said,  "and,  after 
compHmenting  me  on  my  performance,  asked 
me  if  I  didn't  want  to  go  with  her.  '  I  can 
only  give  you  fifty  dollars  a  week  at  pres- 
ent,' she  remarked.  The  sum  appeared  al- 
most fabulous  to  nie.  It  seemed  like  the 
instant  realisation  of  all  my  fondest  and  most 
cherished  dreams,  and  it  came  upon  me  so 
suddenly  that  I  was  nearly  struck  dumb  with 
surprise  and  gratitude.  I  had  all  I  could 
possibly  do  to  keep  from  showing  Miss  Dav- 
enport that  I  was  surprised,  yes,  more  than 
that,  astounded,  at  her  liberal  offer.  I  man- 
aged, however,  to  control  my  feelings  suffi- 
ciently, and,  thanking  her  for  her  kindness, 
said  I  would  think  it  over,  speaking  as  indif- 
ferently as  though  I  had  had  a  hundred 
offers  equally  as  good.  Then  I  went  home, 
and  that  night  I  never  slept  a  wink,  because 


r 


214        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

I  was  afraid  she  would  change  her  mind  and 
withdraw  the  offer." 

After  a  season  with  Daly,  Miss  Shaw  sup- 
ported Miss  Davenport  on  the  road  in  the 
old  comedies.  She  then  appeared  in  "  Young 
Mrs.  Winthrop/'  under  Daniel  Frohman's 
management,  after  which  she  joined  Mo- 
djeska,  with  whom  she  remained  five  sea- 
sons, appearing  in  prominent  rdles  in  the 
Modjeska  repertory,  which  at  that  time  in- 
cluded the  rarely  acted  "Two  Gentlemen 
of  Verona''  and  "Measure  for  Measure." 
It  was  while  she  was  with  Modjeska  that 
Miss  Shaw  had  a  conversation  with  Mat- 
thew Arnold  about  her  conception  of  Queen 
Elizabeth  in  "  Mary  Stuart." 
•  "  I  met  him,"  said  Miss  Shaw,  "at  one  of 
Modjeska's  receptions  in  New  York,  and  he 
said,  *I  want  to  talk  with  you  about  your 
Queen  Elizabeth.'  I  found  that  he  objected 
to  my  impersonation  as  making  her  too 
feminine,  too  tender,  dragged  by  fate,  against 


Mary  Shaw.  215 

her  will,  to  the  execution  of  Mary.  'The 
Elizabeth  you  represent  is  not  the  Elizabeth 
of  history/  he  said.  And  I  replied  :  *  Mr. 
Arnold,  when  I  was  given  that  part  I  was 
not  asked  to  play  Mr.  Hume*s,  or  Mr.  Ma- 
caulay^s,  or  Mr.  Froude*s  Elizabeth,  but  Mr. 
Schiller's.  Schiller  saw  in  the  story  of  these 
two  women  only  deep  humanity  in  all  its 
environments,  and  he  analysed  them  with 
his  own  heart  and  brain.  He  did  not  care 
for  history.  And  when  I  read  the  part  I 
tried  to  read  Schiller  into  it,  to  feel  as  he 
felt,  to  see  with  his  eyes,  and  so  I  dis- 
missed the  historian.'  Mr.  Arnold  leaned 
back  in  his  chair  and  said,  <I  believe  you 
are  right.'" 

When  Miss  Shaw  left  Modjeska,  she  be- 
came connected  with  the  Julia  Marlowe 
company,  with  which  she  remained  a  season. 
A  season  as  a  star  in  a  comedy  from  the 
German,  called  *'  A  Drop  of  Poison,"  fol- 
lowed^ and  then  she  became  Helen  Barry's 


2i6         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

chief  support  in  a  successful  farce  called 
"A  Night's  Frolic/'  In  1893  Miss  Shaw 
was  the  Rosalind  in  the  production  of  **  As 
You  Like  It,"  by  the  Professional  Women's 
League.  When  Mrs.  Fiske  produced  "  Tess 
of  the  D'Urbervilles,"  Miss  Shaw  made  a 
great  impression  as  Marion.  Since  leaving 
Mrs.  Fiske,  Miss  Shaw  has  acted  chiefly  in 
special  productions  in  New  York. 


OLGA    NETHERSOLE 
As  Paula  in  "  The  Second  Mrs.  Tanqueray  " 


CHAPTER    XX. 


OLGA    NETHERSOLE.  . 

Olga  Nethersole  is  by  birth  and  train- 
ing an  English  actress,  and  in  a  strict  clas- 
sification she  would  naturally  be  given  to 
that  country  ;  but  she  is  so  universally  known 
in  the  United  States,  and  her  presence  here 
of  late  years  has  been  so  constant,  that  it 
has  seemed  proper  to  stretch  a  point  and 
include  her  among  the  American  players. 
A  woman  of  much  personal  force,  she  has 
during  the  past  season  established  herself 
as  a  great  dramatic  artist  by  her  wonderfully 
vivid  acting  of  Paula  Tanqueray  in  Arthur 
Wing  Pinero*s  masterpiece,  "The  Second 
Mrs.   Tanqueray.'* 

The  Nethersole  Paula  is  a  most  fascinat- 
217 


2 1 8         Famous  Actresses,  of  the  Day. 

ing  study.  The  actress  has  the  character 
so  absolutely  under  control ;  she  under- 
stands so  clearly  every  phase  of  the  woman's 
mind ;  she  is  so  sensitive  to  every  emotion 
that  Paula  feels  ;  she  conceives  so  fully  the 
motives  underlying  Paula's  every  act,  that 
the  spectator  sees,  not  Paula,  the  creation 
of  Pinero's  fancy,  but  Paula,  a  living,  suffer- 
ing member  of  the  human  family.  Olga 
\'^  Nethersole  lays  bare  the  soul  of  Paula  Tan- 
queray.  It  is  a  soul  seared  and  scarred  with 
many  burnings,  the  soul  of  a  woman  whose 
natural  nobility  of  character  is  too  great  to 
be  entirely  debased,  even  by  a  life  of  har- 
lotry ;  for  Paula,  removed  from  her  environ- 
jo*^'^  ment  of  sin,  her  lungs  breathing  in  an 
atmosphere  of  purity,  quickly  has  reawak- 
ened   her   instincts   for     honesty    and    for 


truth.  ^^ 


/ 


/^"""Do  you  call  such  a  character  impossible, 
out  of  tune  with  human  nature  1  I  do  not 
think  so.     Impurity  does  not  by  any  means 


Olga  Nethersole.  219 

signify  total  depravity,  and  I  venture  to 
claim  that  in  life's  byways  and  hedges  one 
might  find  many  potential  Paulas. 

Paula's  cynicism  and  her  loss  of  ideal  were 
the  natural  results  of  her  wayward  life.  She 
had  sacrificed  her  innocence,  and  she  did  not 
see  the  world  through  eyes  blinded  with 
purity.  But  her  moral  sense  was  sure,  and 
she  knew  human  nature,  particularly  woman 
nature,  down  to  the  rock  bottom.  More- 
over, she  understood  herself,  and  the  curious 
flashes  of  analytical  light  that  she  shed  on 
her  own  motives,  especially  during  moments 
of  severe  emotional  strain  were  great  unveil- 
ers  of  character. 

Miss  Nethersole' s  authority  in  this  exact- 

> 

ing  role  was  simply  beyond  question.  From 
the  beautiful,  sensual  creature  of  the  first  act 
to  the  broken-hearted,  broken-spirited  woman 
of  the  last  act  was  a  far  reach,  but  there  was 
no  step  in  the  intervening  distance  that  the 
dramatist  did  not  prepare  with  masterly  sub- 


220         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

tilty,  and  there  was  no  point  in  the  drama- 
tist's development  that  the  actress  did  not 
seize  upon  with  absolute  surety  and  expound 
with  convincing  sincerity.  Physically  Miss 
Nethersole  realised  the  character  perfectly. 
Her  exuberant  beauty,  which  she  so  bounti- 
fully displayed  in  the  first  act,  explained 
Tanqueray's  infatuation  almost  without  the 
sensuality  of  look  and  caress  that  she  lav- 
ished upon  him.  Sensuality,  it  should  be 
stated,  vanished  entirely  after  the  first  act, 
giving  way  before  Paula's  growing  woman- 
liness. 

I  have  found  it  extremely  difficult  to  write 
of  Miss  Nethersole's  acting  in  this  character, 
for  she  gave  me  no  impression  of  detail  and 
no  idea  of  Olga  Nethersole  apart  from  Paula 
Tanqueray.  Surely  the  art  of  acting  can  do 
no  more  than  that. 

Olga  Nethersole  was  born  in  Kensington, 
London,  and  was  educated  at  private  schools, 
partly  in   England  and  partly  in  Germany. 


Olga  Nethersole.  221 

The  death  of  her  father  made  it  necessary 
for  her  to  choose  some  vocation,  and  she 
decided  on  the  stage.  Prior  to  1887  she 
had  occasionally  acted,  but  her  professional 
career  really  began  in  the  spring  of  that 
year,  when  she  joined  Charles  Hawtrey's 
company  at  the  Theatre  Royal,  Brighton, 
appearing  in  a  low  comedy  part,  Lettice 
Vane  in  Henry  Hamilton's  play,  "  Harvest." 
About  a  year  and  a  half  was  spent  by  Miss 
Nethersole  in  the  English  provinces,  and  her 
first  London  appearance  was  made  in  July, 
1888,  at  the  Royal  Adelphi  Theatre,  in  **The 
Union  Jack,'*  by  Sidney  Grundy  and  Henry 
Pettitt.  Other  engagements  in  London  at 
the  St.  James's  Theatre,  in  "The  Dean's 
Daughter,"  and  at  the  Strand  Theatre  fol- 
lowed, and  then  at  the  opening  of  the  Gar- 
rick  Theatre  Miss  Nethersole  became  a 
member  of  John  Hare's  company,  appear- 
ing in  Pinero's  '*The  Profligate,"  in  "La 
Tosca,"  and  <*  A  Fool's  Paradise/' 


222         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

While  still  on  the  roster  of  this  company, 
with  which  she  was  connected  four  years, 
she  visited  Australia  with  Charles  Cart- 
wright,  remaining  there  ten  months  and 
appearing  in  a  varied  repertory  which  in- 
cluded "The  Idler,''  "Moths,"  and  "The 
Village  Priest."  On  returning  to  England 
she  rejoined  Mr.  Hare's  company  at  the 
Garrick  Theatre,  and  immediately  evidenced 
the  remarkable  improvement  she  had  made 
in  her  methods  by  her  experience  in  Aus- 
tralia. During  the  time  she  was  with  Mr. 
Hare  she  played  successfully  the  part  of 
Zicka  in  the  memorable  revival  of  Sar- 
dou's  "Diplomacy."  An  engagement  at 
the  Criterion  followed,  where  Miss  Nether- 
sole  achieved  distinction  in  the  leading  role 
of  Isaac  Henderson's  drama,  "The  Silent 
Battle,"  and  in  January,  1894,  she  leased 
the  Royal  Court  Theatre  and  successfully 
produced  "The  Transgressor." 

The  following  fall  she  came  to  this  couur 


Olga  Nethersole,  223 

try,  making  her  American  d6but  at  Palmer's 
Theatre,  New  York,  on  October  15th,  and 
subsequently  making  a  most  successful  tour 
of  the  country.  She  played  besides  "The 
Transgressor,"  Marguerite  Gauthier  in  "  Ca- 
mille,"  Gilberte  in  "  Frou-Frou,*'  and  Juliet 
in  '*  Romeo  and  Juliet."  In  May,  1895,  Miss 
Nethersole  assumed  the  chief  role  in  **The 
Notorious  Mrs.  Ebbsmith,"  at  the  Garrick, 
London,  following  Mrs.  Patrick  Campbell. 
That  fall  she  again  visited  America,  having 
added  to  her  repertory  "Denise"  and  "The 
Wife  of  Scarli."  June  6,  1896,  she  produced 
"  Carmen "  at  the  Gaiety  Theatre,  London, 
which  play  made  an  immense  sensation  in 
this  country  the  following  winter.  Last 
season,  Miss  Nethersole's  fourth  in  the 
United  States,  was  devoted  to  "  The  Second 
Mrs.  Tanqueray,"  a  poetical  drama,  "The 
Termagant,"  and  "The  Profligate." 

Miss  Nethersole  is  a  strikingly  handsome 
woman,  slightly  under  medium  height,  with 


224         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

a  figure  slender,  sinuous,  and  graceful.  Her 
eyes  are  large  and  brilliant,  a  dark  gray  in 
colour,  though  it  is  difficult  to  be  sure  of  this, 
for  they  change  constantly  with  every  passing 
thought  and  emotion.  Her  crowning  glory  is 
her  luxuriant  hair,  which  is  of  a  peculiar 
tawny  shade.  She  rarely  wears  a  wig  on  the 
stage,  though  many  have  found  it  difficult  to 
believe  that  the  rich  mass  of  hair,  which 
sometimes  seems  a  ruddy  hue  and  other 
times  almost  bronze,  is  really  her  own. 

"The  Transgressor'*  by  A.  W.  Gattie,  in 
which  Miss  Nethersole  made  her  first  appear- 
ance in  this  country,  was  a  somewhat  crude 
play  of  the  "  problem  '*  order,  and  in  it  the 
actress's  opportunities  to  show  her  emotional 
power  were  somewhat  limited.  Regarding 
her  d^but,  William  Winter  wrote  : 

"Miss  Nethersole  gained  the  confidence 
and  friendship  of  her  audience  at  once,  and 
earned  the  hearty  greeting  she  received. 
She  has  the  quality  of  charm  which  is  so 


Olga  Nethersole,  225 

invaluable  on  the  stage,  and  the  lack  of 
which  cannot  be  counterbalanced  by  any 
amount  of  industry  or  study.  She  gains 
sympathy  by  the  simple  force  of  person- 
ality. In  the  technicalities  of  her  art  she 
is  accomplished,  but  not  always  finished  and 
matured.  The  fullness  and  roundness  of  her 
power  are  not  yet  reached.  She  has  youth, 
beauty,  grace,  and  self-command.  Her  voice 
is  musical  and  her  manner  refined.  With 
these  qualities  she  will  surely  be  admired 
and  will  make  her  way.  Greater  authority 
and  command  may'Eome  hereafter.  Through 
two  acts  last  night  Miss  Nethersole  had 
little  to  do  but  to  be  on  the  stage  for  a 
part  of  the  time.  Her  talk  was  bright  and 
snappy,  and  her  face  was  gay  and  sunny. 
These  things  pleased  so  far  as  they  went. 
They  showed  that  the  actress  was  at  home 
on  the  stage  and  that  it  was  likely  to  be 
agreeable  at  anytime  to  see  her  there.  They 
showed  that   she  had  elegance  and  repose. 


226         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

highly  desirable  qualities,  essential  indeed. 
But  that  was  all.  At  the  end  of  the  third 
act  she  had  a  scene  of  a  sort  which  it  is  com- 
mon to  designate  as  '  strong.'  It  was  not  sen- 
sible, and  it  was  not  womanly.  She  could  not 
enforce  the  conviction  that  such  a  woman  as 
she  had  shown  herself  to  be  would  do  what 
she  did.  She  did  show  that  she  could  reach 
a  fine  emotional  height,  but  the   act   of   the 

J^i\    woman  whose  part  she  played  seemed  incred- 
ible,  and  she  did  not  make  it  seem  anything 

'  I       else7> 

Miss  Nethersole  made  her  greatest  suc- 
cess that  first  season  in  "  Camille."  It  was 
an  intensely  realistic  impersonation,  deeply 
emotional  and  ardently  passionate,  an  im- 
personation that  moved  one  by  its  great 
dramatic  vigour  rather  than  by  subtilty  of 
conception  or  finish  in  acting.  At  that  time 
Miss  Nethersole  displayed  a  certain  crudity 
of  method  and  a  proneness  to  exaggeration 
which  later  developed  into  those  unpleasant 


Olga  Nethersole,  227 

mannerisms  of  speech  and  gesture  that  so 
marred  some  of  her  work.  Yet  she  made 
C^mille  so  affecting  that  at  times  her  pathos 
touched  the  heart  with  a  feeHng  that  was 
almost  too  genuine  for  comfort.  She  ^  was 
at  her  best  in  the  scene  with  M.  Duval,  a 
scene  which  she  played  with  uncommon 
dignity  and  a  tender  simplicity  that  rarely 
failed  to  win  the  tribute  of  tears.  Last  year 
Miss  Nethersole  introduced  a  novelty  in  ,,,^^ 
IjLgr  performance  of  the.  play,,  by  costuming 
the  characters  in  the  fashions  of  1841,  the  y? 
time  the  drama  was  written.  The  idea,  I 
believe,  was  originated  by  Sarah  Bernhardt. 

Miss  Nethersole's  Juliet  was  not  highly 
esteemed.  While  she  had  moments  of 
genuine  power,  her  acting  as  a  whole  was 
uneven,  besides  being  hurt  by  undue  force 
and  intensity.  Her  balcony  scene  was  well 
done,  but  the  scene  in  which  Juliet  learns 
of  Tybalt's  death  and  Romeo's  banishment, 
and  especially  the  potion  scene,  she  almost 


228        Famotcs  Actresses^  of  the  Day, 

ruined  by  overacting.  Dr.  William  J.  Rolfe, 
the  Shakespearian  scholar,  however,  found 
much  to  commend  in  the  impersonation,  re- 
garding which  he  wrote  to  Miss  Nethersole  : 
**  One  of  the  best  features  of  your  ren- 
dering of  Juliet,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  was  the 
clear  distinction  you  made  between  the  girl 
of  sixteen  (or  fourteen,  as  Shakespeare 
makes  her,  and  I  think  you  might  retain 
the  old  text  in  that  matter)  and  the  woman 
she  becomes  under  the  influence  of  love 
and  sorrow.  I  am  aware  that  some  of  the 
professional  critics  find  fault  with  you  for 
this,  but  I  think  they  should  rather  give 
you  special  praise  for  it.  For  myself,  I 
liked  all  the  points  in  which  your  persona- 
tion of  the  Veronese  heroine  differed  from 
the  conventional  JuHet  on  the  stage.  I 
believe  that  if  in  some  respects  it  does  not 
now  please  critical  judges,  it  will  gradually 
commend  itself  to  the  best  of  them,  if  not 
to  all.     I  have  no  doubt  that  I  should  enjoy 


Otga  Nethersole.  229 

it  more  a  second  or  third  time  than  I  did 
at  first,  though,  as  I  have  said,  I  liked  it 
exen  then." 
/  ^I  should  be  pleased  to  omit  any  refer- 
ence to  *'  Carmen,"  but  the  notoriety  of  the 
Nethersole  kiss  will  hardly  permit  that. 
The  adaptation  of  the  novel  that  Miss 
Nethersole  used,  made  a  filthy  play  in  which 
lust  and  animal  passion  were  shown  with 
disgusting  frankness.  Even  if  one  ignored 
the  vileness,  he  found  but  a  cheap  melo- 
drama, poorly  constructed  at  that,  and 
abounding  in  mock  heroics,  false  platitudes, 
and  cheap  sentiment.  The  play  lacked  a 
vestige  of  the  romanticism  that  idealised 
the  opera,  and  made  it  a  thing  apart  from 
the  essential  nastiness  of  the  theme.  Miss 
Nethersole's  acting  was  a  study  in  lascivious- 
ness,  marvellously  vivid  and  marvellously 
true  to  life.  Indeed,  therein  was  the  chief 
cause  for  censure.7  -'^ 

Before  "The  Termagant,"  by  Louis    N. 


230        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

Parker  and  Murray  Carson,  was  produced, 
Miss  Nethersole  spoke  thus  of  the  work : 

"  It  is  a  dramatic  poem,  beautiful  and 
simple,  as  dainty  as  a  gossamer.  There  is 
one  scene  in  the  second  act  that  I  like  the 
best.  There  the  love  story  is  told  simply, 
very  simply,  and  an  old  well  is  there  by 
which  the  cavalier  and  his  loved  one  stand. 
It  is  in  the  days  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 
you  know,  and  the  characters  are  dressed 
in  the  exquisite  costumes  of  the  fifteenth 
century.  As  the  lovers  talk  they  take  the 
old  well  into  their  secret,  and  make  of  it 
their  confidant,  and  trust  their  story  to  its 
deep  waters.  There  is  another  scene  where 
she  tries  to  poison  him,  and  in  the  last  act 
the  threads  are  gathered  up,  and  the  char- 
acters hold  a  court  of  love,  just  as  they  did 
in  those  old  romantic  days." 

Miss  Nethersole,  however,  misjudged  the 
play  sadly,  for  it  proved  a  failure  from  the 
first.     It  was  an  extremely  artificial  affair, 


Olga  Nethersole,  231 

with  hardly  a  character  of  blood  and  sinew, 
About  all  that  could  be  praised  were  the 
beautiful  scenery  and  the  handsome  cos- 
tumes. The  Princess  Beatrix,  whom  Miss 
Nethersole  played,  was  a  purely  theatrical 
personage,  without  any  genuinely  human 
characteristic  on  which  the  actress  could 
found  a  convincing  conception,  a  motiveless 
character  of  annoying  fickleness.  "The 
Termagant,'*  however,  was  valuable  in  so 
far  as  it  defined  Miss  Nethersole's  sphere 
as  a  player,  ^t  plainly  showed  that  she 
could  not  act  a  part  that  was  untrue  to 
nature.  Apparently  she  must  approach  her 
characters  from  within,  and  not  until  she 
feels  that  the  emotions  inspired  by  the  action  /r 
are  honest  can  she  convey  those  emotions. 
with  any  convincing  sincerity.  Her  man- 
nerisms seem  to  result  when  she  tries  to 
impress  on  her  audience  a  mental  state  that 
does  not  logically  existA 


Lillian  Lawrence,  233 

the  stock  company  whose  rule  it  is  to  change 
its  bill  every  week.  She  seems  to  have  an 
infinite  capacity  for  hard  work,  and  she  has 
also  the  intuitive  dramatic  sense,  without 
which  no  player  can  succeed  in  this  hurry- 
skurry  and  extremely  arduous  variety  of 
theatrical  effort.  She  has  considerable  ver- 
satility, though  she  has  not  in  abundance  the 
faculty  of  differentiation.  She  realises  with 
ability  two  widely  different  characterisations, 
such  as,  for  example,  June  in  "Blue  Jeans" 
and  Ann  Cruger  in  *<  The  Charity  Ball ;  '*  but 
give  her  two  similar  characters,  such  as  Ann 
Cruger  and  Helen  Truman  in  **The  Wife," 
and  one  finds  that  she  fails  thoroughly  to 
individualise  them.  This  is,  of  course,  the 
severest  of  all  tests  of  a  player's  art,  re- 
sources, and  versatility,  and  it  is  not  a  test 
that  can  be  applied  with  absolute  fairness  to 
an  actress,  who,  like  Miss  Lawrence,  cannot 
devote  any  length  of  time  to  developing  the 
fine  points  of  a  character.     In  acting,  as  in 


f 


234         Famous  Actresses,  of  the  Day, 

painting,  it  is  the  little  lines  that  make  the 
portrait  stand  out  as  something  apart  from 
others  of  its  kind,  'and  it  is  also  the  little 
lines  that  require  the  deepest  study  and  the 
most  careful  consideration. 

Primarily,  Miss  Lawrence  is  an  emotional 
actress  of  the  old  school ;  her  expression  of 
sorrow  and  of  passion  is  accomplished,  ^loT 
so  much  by  suggestion,  as  by  actual  demon- 
stration. Her  pathos  in  many  characters  is 
sincere  and  touching,  and  even  when  she 
fails  to  sound  just  the  right  note  in  the  por- 
trayal of  grief  and  pain,  her  fine  quality  of 
embodying  in  her  roles  those  elements  of 
womanliness  and  feminine  charm,  which  are 
so  evident  in  her  work,  gains  even  for  her 
poorest  parts  sympathy  and  interest.  One 
would  not  call  Miss  Lawrence  a  great  emo- 
tional actress,  but  in  the  wide  field,  whose 
boundaries  fall  just  short  of  the  point  where 
the  heartrending  passions  pass  from  emotion 
into  tragedy,  she  is  ably  competent,  and  in 


Lillian  Lawrence.  235 

her  appeal  to  persons  whose  susceptibiUties 
have  not  been  deadened  by  too  much  theatre- 
going  she  is  extraordinarily  powerful. 

In  comedy  Miss  Lawrence  has  not  the 
touch-and-go  style  that  marks  the  born 
comedienne,  but  she  has  intelligence,  which 
enables  her  to  present,  with  commendable 
ease  and  more  than  ordinary  success,  parts 
that  are  not  naturally  in  her  line.  As  js 
often  the  case  with  actors,  whose  comedy 
is  the  result  of  study  rather  than  of  inspira- 
tion, Miss  Lawrence  is  on  the  whole  better 
in  eccentric  comedy  r61es  than  she  is  in  those 
only  slightly  set  apart  from  every-day  life. 
This  seems  strange  at  first  thought,  but  in 
reality  it  is  a  logical  consequence  and  just 
what  one  might  naturally  expect.  Eccentric 
^comedy,  in  most  of  its  phases,  is  but  a  bur- 
lesgue  on  nature,  and  there  is  nothing  in  the 
theatrical  line  quite  so  easy  as  burlesque, 
especially  when  the  burlesquer  is  assisted 
by  a  make-up  that  of  itself  wins  the  first 


"N 


236         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

encounter, J^dththe-audience.  vTrue  comedy, 
on  the  other  hand,  approaches  more  nearly 
to  nature  than  any  other  form  of  acting. 
The  personages  in  that  variety  of  the  drama 
are  like  ordinary  men  and  women,  and  they 
do  things  that  the  average  human  being  might 
reasonably  be  expected  to  do  under  similar 
circumstances.  They  have  experiences  that 
the  average  audience  understands,  and  the 
actor's  expression  of  the  emotions  caused 
by  these  experiences  must  be  lifelike  and 
genuine  to  escape  critical  condemnation. 
There  is  no  higher  form  of  dramatic  art 
than  first-class  comedy  acting."^ 

Lillian  Lawrence  was  born  in  Alexandria, 
Virginia,  in  the  middle  sixties.  When  she 
was  two  years  old  her  parents  moved  to  San 
Francisco,  and  there  Miss  Lawrence  passed 
her  girlhood.  When  she  was  in  the  gram- 
mar school,  Charles  E.  Lacke,  manager  of 
Bush  Street  Theatre  in  San  Francisco, 
chose  her  as  one  of  thirty-two  children  to 


Lillian  Lawretue,  237 

take  part  in  a  living  chess  spectacle  at  his 
playhouse,  and  thus  her  theatrical  career 
began,  when  she  was  thirteen  years  old,  as 
the  Queen's  Knight  in  the  chess  game  in  the 
operetta,  "The  Royal  Middy."  Miss  Law-  ,  ; 
renc^'s  parents  were  opposed  to  her  going  ^ 
Qnjthe  stage,  but  when  they  perceived  that 
her  heart  was  set  on  it,  they  relented.  She 
remained  with  "  The  Royal  Middy  "  after  it 
was  transferred  to  the  California  Theatre, 
and  for  three  seasons  she  sang  in  light  opera 
at  that  house  in  the  company  of  which  Emily 
Melleville  was  the  prima  donna.  Then  Miss 
Lawrence's  voice  failed,  and  she  took  her 
first  engagement  as  an  actress  in  a  stock  >i| 
company  in  Oakland,  California,  where  she 
remained  for  two  years.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  she  retired  from  the  stage  for  two  years, 
but  resumed  acting  when  she  was  twenty 
years  old  as  a  member  of  a  small  dramatic 
company  that  toured  California.  One  of  the 
characters  Miss  Lawrence  played  at  this  time 


238        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

was  Sister  Genevieve  in  <^  The  Two  Or- 
phans." Next  she  was  with  the  Cordway 
Stock  Company,  which  appeared  principally 
in  San  Diego,  California,  and  Portland,  Ore- 
gon, presenting  each  week  a  change  of  bill. 
Miss  Lawrence  did  not  come  East  until 
1892.  Three  days  after  her  arrival  in  New 
York  she  was  engaged  to  play  Marie  Louise 
to  Hortense  Rhea's  Josephine.  She  acted 
with  a  Dayton,  Ohio,  stock  company  during 
the  next  summer,  and  in  the  fall  she  joined 
the  Kate  Claxton  company,  appearing  as 
Henrietta  in  *^The  Two  Orphans."  She 
returned  to  the  Dayton  company  for  the 
following  summer,  and  that  winter  saw  her 
filling  special  engagements  in  New  York  in 
"Lady  Gladys,"  at  the  Madison  Square 
Theatre  with  Minnie  Seligman,  and  in  **  Mrs. 
Dascott,"  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  with  Kath- 
erine  Clemmons.  After  "  Mrs.  Dascott," 
which  was  a  failure,  Miss  Lawrence  was 
for  a  short  time  with  **In  Old  Kentucky/' 


Lillian  Lawrence.  239 

and  she  finished  the  season  in  Carrie  Tur- 
ner's company,  which  was  giving  **  The  Crust 
of  Society."  That  summer  she  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  National  Theatre  Stock  Company 
of  Washington,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the 
regular  season  she  came  under  the  manage- 
ment of  Charles  Frohman,  acting  in  <*  Men 
and  Women."  She  was  reengaged  for  the 
National  Theatre  Stock  Company  the  next 
summer,  and  the  following  season  found  her 
playing(  Shakespearian  rdles  with  Thomas  , 
W.  Keene.  The  season  before  she  came  to*^  \ 
the  Castle  Square  Company  of  Boston  she^ 
was  with  "The  Bachelor's  Baby"  and  "The 
Great  Diamond  Robbery^T  in  addition  to  a 
short  engagement  at  the  Girard  Avenue 
Theatre  in  Philadelphia. 

During  her  stay  of  two  years  and  a  half  at 
the  Castle  Square  Theatre  Miss  Lawrence 
has  appeared  in  over  seventy-five  different 
characters.  A  complete  list  of  the  r61es 
that   she  played   at   this   house   up   to   the 


24(5        Famous  Actress.es  of  the  Day, 

beginning  of   the  last    summer   season   fol- 
lows : 

Helen  Truman,  "The  Wife;''  Jo,  "The 
Lottery  of  Love;"  Lilian,  "The  Banker's 
Daughter ;  "  Rosa  Leigh,  "  Rosedale ;  "  Mrs. 
Page,  "  Alabama ;  "  Esther  Eccles,  "  Caste ;  " 
Margaret  Knowlton,  "  The  Lost  Paradise  ; " 
Rose  Mumpleford,  "  Confusion  ;  "  Georgia 
Gwynne,  "  The  New  South;"  Bella,  "School;" 
Mabel  Renfrew,  "  Pique  ;  "  Bessie  Barton, 
"  Woman  against  Woman  ;  "  Nina  Ralston, 
"  Jim  the  Penman  ; "  Minna,  "  Little  Lord 
Fauntleroy;"  Clairette  Monteith,  "A  Fair 
Rebel;"  Mrs.  Horton,  "Doctor  Bill;" 
Trilby  O'Farrall,  "Trilby;"  Ann  Cruger, 
"The  Charity  Ball;"  Cicily  Blaine,  "The 
Galley  Slave;"  Mary  Brandon,  "My  Part- 
ner ; "  Agnes  Rodman,  "  Men  and  Women ; " 
Leila  Caprices,  "  A  Social  Highwayman  ; " 
Lady  Noeline,  "The  Amazons;"  Gertrude 
Ellin gham,  "  Shenandoah  ; "  Mrs.  Seabrookes, 
"Captain  Swift;"  Margaret  Marrable,  "The 


Lillian  Lawrence.  241 

Fatal  Card;''  Kitty  Verdun,  "Charley's 
Aunt ;  "  Rosa  Dartle,  "  Little  Em'ly ; "  Val- 
entine de  Mornay,  "A  Celebrated  Case;" 
Hazel  Kirke,  "  Hazel  Kirke  ; ''  Kate  Vernon, 
"  In  Mizzoura  ;  "  Countess  Zicka,  "  Diplo- 
macy ;  "  Princess  Flavia,  "The  Prisoner  of 
Zenda ; "  Mary  Melrose,  "  Our  Boys  ; "  Flor- 
ence Winthrop,  "  Americans  Abroad  ;  "  Con- 
stance, "  Young  Mrs.  Winthrop  ; "  Agatha 
Posket,  "  The  Magistrate  ;  "  Alice  Greer, 
"The  Ensign;"  Dora,  "  Christopher  Jr. ; " 
Rachel  McCreery,  "Held  by  the  Enemy;'* 
Lady  Isabel,  "  East  Lynne  ; "  June,  "  Blue 
Jeans;"  Elizabeth  Linley,  "Sheridan,  or  the 
Maid  of  Bath  ;  "  Niobe,  "  Niobe  ; "  JuHe  De 
Varion,  "  An  Enemy  to  the  King ; "  Fifi 
Oritanski,  "All  the  Comforts  of  Home;" 
Bess  Marks,  "  The  Lights  o'  London ; " 
Lydia  Ransome,  "  A  Southern  Romance  ;  " 
Suzzanne,  "  A  Scrap  of  Paper ; "  Edith  Gar- 
land, "  Across  the  Potomac ; "  Armande 
Chandoce,    "  Led    Astray  ;  "    Carrie,    "  The 


24^        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

Guv'nor;"  Marion  Paoli,  "Mr.  Barnes  of 
New  York;"  Marguerite  Otto,  "Friends;" 
Mrs.  Bulford,  "The  Great  Diamond  Rob- 
bery ; "  Sophie  Hackett,  "  Brother  John  ; " 
Roxane,  "Cyrano  de  Bergerac;"  Mrs.  Gil- 
bert Brandon,  "The  Solicitor;"  Fanny  Ten 
Eyck,  "  Divorce  ;  "  Martha  Custis,  "  Col. 
George  of  Mt.  Vernon ; "  May  Blossom, 
"May  Blossom;"  Anne  of  Austria,  "The 
Three  Musketeers  ; "  Ilda  Barosky,  "  Dark- 
est Russia ; "  Fanny  Hadden,  "  Captain  Let- 
tarblair ; "  Queena  Montrose  and  Mile.  Rene, 
"Queena;"  Rose  Woodmere,  "The  Prodi- 
gal Daughter;"  Kate  Kennion,  "The  Girl 
I  Left  Behind  Me;"  Lady  Hardy,  "The 
Idler  ;  "  Alice  Ainsley,  "  Cumberland,  '6i  ; " 
Ruth,  "  A  Temperance  Town ; "  Bethel 
Grant,  "Just  a  Day  Dream." 


BLANCHE   BATES 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

BLANCHE    BATES. 

Blanche  Bates  was  the  histrionic  sensa- 
tion of  last  season,  and  by  her  phenomenal 
success  in  "TJie  Great  Ruby,"  when  that 
ipelodrama  was  produced  at  Daly's  Theatre 
on  February  9,  1899,  and  a  month  later  by 
her  remarkable  acting  of  Miladi  in  Sidney 
Grundy's  version  of  *'The  Three  Musket- 
eers," which  was  produced  in  Montreal  on 
March  6th,  with  James  O'Neill  as  D'Arta- 
gnan,  she  arose  from  comparative  obscurity  to 
a  position  of  prominence  on  the  American 
stage. 

She  was  born  in  Portland,  Oregon,  in  1873, 
and  was  the  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  F.  M. 
Bates,  widely  popular  as  leading  man  and 
243 


^244        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

woman  on  the  Pacific  Coast  and  in  Australia. 
At  the  time  of  her  birth  her  father  was 
manager  of  the  beautiful  Oro  Fino  Theatre 
in  Portland,  and  also  leading  man  in  the 
company.  Three  years  later  he  left  Port- 
land and  went  to  San  Francisco,  where  he 
lived  the  rest  of  his  life. 

Miss  Bates's  parents  did  not  intend  that 
she  should  be  an  actress.  She  was  educated 
in  the  same  way  as  are  thousands  of  girls 
whose  existence  is  to  be  passed  in  the  usual 
walks  of  life,  and  her  going  on  the  stage 
was  purely  accidental.  An  old  friend  of  her 
mother,  L.  R.  Stockwell,  manager  of  jtock- 
welFs  Theatre  in  San  Francisco,  now  known 
as  the  Columbia,  had  a  benefit,  and  to  please 
him  Miss  Bates  took  a  part  in  a  one-act  play 
by  Brander  Matthews,  called  "  This  Picture 
and  That."  This  taste  of  life  behind  the 
footlights  only  whetted  her  appetite  for 
more,  and,  after  acting  for  a  short  time  in 
T.  Daniel  Frawley's  stock  company  in  San 


Blanche  Bates,  245 

Francisco,  she  went  to  New  York,  where, 
on  the  recommendation  of  Mr.  Frawley,  who 
was  also  a  member  of  the  company,  she  was 
engaged  by  James  Neill  for  the  Giffen  and 
Neill  company.  She  was  with  that  organisa- 
tion for  about  twenty-five  weeks,  receiving 
a  salary  of  thirty-five  dollars  a  week,  and 
appearing  in  Denver,  Salt  Lake  City,  and 
Portland.  Then  Mr.  Frawley  bought  out 
the  interests  of  Giffen  and  Neill,  and  Miss 
Bates  continued  with  him  during  his  San 
Francisco  run,  being  in  May,  1895,  advanced 
to  the  leading  comedy  r61es. 

Her  first  great  success  was  Mrs.  Hillary 
in  "  The  Senator,*'  a  part  that  she  acted  with 
great  vivacity,  although  she  was  handicapped 
by  her  youth,  which  prevented  her  from 
looking  the  character.  She  assumed  the 
comedy  leads  in  ^  the  successful  Daly 
plays,  such  as  "The  Last  Word,"  "The 
Railroad  of  Love,*'  "  7-20-8,''  "  Nancy  &  Co.," 
"The  Great  Unknown,"  "The  International 


246         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

Match/'  and  "  Transit  of  Leo/'  and  also  ap- 
peared in  "  Sweet  Lavender  "  and  "  Captain 
Swift/'  Her  first  emotional  part  was  Phyllis 
in  "  The  Charity  Ball/'  and  it  was  followed 
with  leading  rdles  in  "  The  Wife/'  "  In  Spite 
of  All/'  **The  Dancing  Girl/'  "An  Enemy 
of  the  King/'  and  "A  Doll's  House/'  Her 
Nora  was  a  great  triumph,  and  attracted  wide 
attention,  for  "A  Doll's  House"  was  the 
first  Ibsen  play  to  be  presented  on  the  Pacific 
Coast. 

In  January,  1898,  Miss  Bates  came  under 
August  in  Daly's  management,  and  played 
Shakespearian  characters  in  his  company 
until  the  end  of  the  season,  when  she  was 
loaned  to  Mr.  Frawley,  with  whom  she  starred 
throughout  the  West.  She  returned  to  Mr. 
Daly  to  create  in  this  country  the  character 
of  the  Countess  Mirtza  in  "The  Great 
Ruby,"  her  first  heavy  part.  She  appeared 
in  the  r61e  but  twice,  and  her  unexpected 
withdrawal  from  the  Daly  company  gave  rise 


Blanche  Bates,  247 

to  any  amount  of  gossip.  Her  success  with 
James  O'Neill  followed.  During  the  early- 
part  of  last  summer  she  was  again  with  Mr. 
Frawley,  this  time  appearing  with  his  stock 
company  in  Washington.  Regarding  her 
work  in  "The  Great  Ruby/'  Norman  Hap- 
good  wrote :  "  Blanche  Bates,  by  moderate, 
clear,  and  vivid  acting,  made  the  countess 
thief  a  fascinating  person.  This  actress  will 
be  watched  with  interest  in  her  New  York 
career."  Franklyn  Fyles  said:  "A  new  one, 
Blanche  Bates,  distinguished  herself  by 
marked  cleverness  in  the  r61e  of  an  adven- 
turess. She  is  a  handsome  and  accomplished 
actress." 


CHAPTER   XXIIL 

ELSIE    DEWOLFE. 

When  Mrs.  James  Brown  Potter  became 
a  professional  actress,  thus  resigning  the 
leadership  in  New  York  amateur  theatricals, 
which  she  had  held  for  many  years,  the  per- 
son that  quietly  slipped  into  the  position  was 
Elsie  Anderson  DeWolfe.  Miss  DeWolfe's 
career  as  an  amateur  actress  was  unusual 
enough  to  be  worth  recording.  Her  first 
important  appearance  was  in  iSBS  ^^  Charles 
Wyndham's  Criterion  Theatre  in  London, 
when  she  acted  in  Douglas  Jerrold*s  comedy, 
"The  White  Milliner.'*  The  performance 
was  for  the  benefit  of  some  church  charity, 
and  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  were 
348 


ELSIE    DE    WOLFE 


Elsie  De  Wolfe.  249 

among  those  present.  The  play  was  repeated 
a  littliFIater  for  the  benefit  of  the  wives  of 
the  soldiers  killed  in  the  Soudan.  On  her 
return  home  to  New  York  from  her  London 
visit  Miss  DeWolfe  acted  at  Mrs.  Eggleston's 
residence  in  Washington  Square,  in  a  play- 
called  "The  Loan  of  a  Lover."  She  then 
appeared  at  the  University  Club  Theatre  in 
a  drama  entitled  "Fete  de  la  St.  Martin.'* 
Even  in  those  days,  when  any  idea  of  the 
professional  stage  would  have  seemed  the 
height  of  absurdity.  Miss  DeWolfe  was  a 
diligent  student  of  the  art  of  acting,  and 
conscientious  to  a  surprising  degree  in  the 
preparation  of  her  characters.  She  was 
thoroughly  at  home  on  the  stage,  and  she 
had  repose,  a  most  uncommon  quality  among 
amateur  actors. 

In  the  spring  of  1886  Miss  DeWolfe  made 
a  great  hit  as  Lady  Clara  Seymore  in  S. 
Theyre  Smith's  one-act  play,  "A  Cup  of 
Tea,"  which   was   given   at  the    University 


250         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

Club  Theatre  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Amateur  Comedy  Club.  Her  "fall"  in  this 
piece  was  a  nine  days'  wonder  in  the  fashion- 
able world.  In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year 
she  again  played  Lady  Clara,  this  time  at  the 
opening  of  the  Tuxedo  Club  Theatre.  Next 
she  appeared  as  Maud  Ashley  in  a  dull  play 
called  "Sunshine."  This  performance  was 
given  by  the  Amateur  Comedy  Club  in  the 
assembly-rooms  of  the  Metropolitan  Opera 
House.  A  few  weeks  later,  during  car- 
nival week  at  Tuxedo,  Miss  DeWolfe  acted 
Lady  Gwendoline  Bloomfield  in  Sir  Charles 
Young's  "Drifted  Apart"  and  Helen  in 
the  comedy  scenes  from  Sheridan  Knowles's 
drama,  "The  Hunchback."  These  plays 
were  afterward  repeated  in  New  York.  Lady 
Gwendoline  was  a  type  of  the  cold,  heart- 
less woman  of  society.  As  the  play  pro- 
gressed. Lady  Gwendoline's  womanly  nature 
was  developed,  and  the  r61e  became  one  re- 
quiring considerable  emotional  power.     Miss 


Elsie  De  Wolfe.  251 

DeWolfe  was  very  good  in  the  early  scenes, 
but  naturally  enough  she  was  hardly  equal  to 
realising  the  full  possibilities  of  the  last  half 
of  the  play.  Her  performance  of  Helen  was 
much  better,  and  the  coquetry  and  archness 
of  the  character  were  displayed  with  fine 
effect.  She  acted  Helen  eight  times  that 
winter,  and  each  time  showed  great  improve- 
ment, with  the  result  that  as  an  amateur 
actress  she  was  without  an  equal,  and  judged 
by  the  professional  standard  she  ranked  only 
a  trifle  beneath  the  general  average.  Miss 
DeWolfe' s  connection  with  amateur  theat- 
ricals continued  until  she  became  a  pro- 
fessional actress  in  1891,  -and  her  most 
successful  parts  were  Mrs.  Prettifet  in  "The 
Mousetrap,''  Rosina  Vokes*s  famous  char- 
acter in  Mrs.  Charles  A.  Doremus's  bright 
comedietta,  "The  Circus  Rider,"  Lady  Teazle 
in  Richard  Brinsley  Sheridan's  "The  School 
for  Scandal,"  and  the  leading  role  in  "Con- 
trasts," an  adaptation  by  Miss  Elizabeth  Mar- 


252         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

bury  of  "Je  dine  chez  ma  mere."  In  this 
last  drama,  which  was  one  of  the  most  elabo- 
rate amateur  productions  ever  made  in  New 
York,  Miss  DeWolfe  had  the  advantage  of 
Mr.  David  Belasco's  instruction.  She  had 
also  during  her  visits  abroad  constantly 
studied  under  leading  dramatic  artists,  among 
them  Mile.  Bartet,  Herman  Vezin,  and  Mile. 
Marie  Laurent. 

Elsie  DeWolfe  was  the  daughter  of  the 
late  Dr.  Stephen  DeWolfe,  of  New  York,  and 
was  born  in  New  York  City  on  December 
20,  1865.  Her  father  died  in  1890,  and  after 
his  estate  had  been  settled  Miss  DeWolfe 
found  that  she  would  be  obliged  to  earn  a 
/livelihood.  Her  tastes  and  her  training  led 
^'  her  to  choose  the  stage,  and  she  succeeded 
in  getting  an  engagement  with  Charles 
Frohman,  under  whose  management  she  has 
remained  most  of  the  time  since.  Her  pro- 
fessional d6but  was  made  at  Proctor's  The- 
atre,  New    York,   on    October    5,    1891,   in 


h>'> 


Elsie  De  Wolfe,  253 

Victorien  Sardou's  "  Thermidor,"  in  which 
she  assumed  the  leading  emotional  r61e, 
Fabienne  Lecoulteur.  She  prepared  herself 
with  great  care  for  the  part,  going  abroad 
and  studying  it  in  French  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Sardou  himself  and  with  the  aid 
of  her  former  tutor,  Mile.  Bartet,  who  cre- 
ated the  character  at  the  stormy  production 
of  the  play  in  Paris.  Under  Mile.  Bartet' s 
coaching,  Miss  DeWolfe  gained  wonderfully 
in  emotional  power.  When  the  play  was 
produced  in  New  York,  however.  Miss 
DeWolfe  was  not  a  success,  though  later 
she  retrieved  herself,  and  in  Boston  achieved 
a  genuine  triumph.  She  has  always  ascribed 
her  New  York  failure  largely  to  her  igno- 
rance of  the  art  of  making-up.  *'  I  looked  a 
perfect  fright  on  the  first  night,''  she  said, 
"  more  like  a  circus  clown  than  a  woman,  and 
even  my  own  friends  did  not  recognise  me 
when  I  came  on  the  stage." 

While  working  with  Sardou  Miss  DeWolfe 


254        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

bfecameji , great  adm  French  drama- 

tist, regarding  whom  she  said  : 

."To  me  he  is  Httle  short  of  a  demigod. 
/  He  seems  to  know  everything.  You  hunt 
up  a  subject  and  go  to  him  with  it.  He 
knows  all,  and  more  than  you  can  tell  him. 
His  erudition  is  perfectly  appalling,  and  yet 
he  is  so  simple,  and  his  life  is  so  quiet  and 
so  beautiful. 

r  "  I  attended  all  the  rehearsals  of  *  Thermi- 
dor*  at  the  Comedie  Frangaise,^'  she  con- 
tinued, "the  first  outsider  ever  accorded 
such  a  privilege,  and  from  that  time  until 
I  came  back,  to  make  my  own  debut,  I 
literally  sat  in  Sardou's  pocket,  that  is, 
when  I  was  not  vibrating  between  him  and 
Mile.  Bartet.  Yes,  I  was  there  in  Sar- 
dou's  box,  the  Saturday  night  the  play  was 
produced,  and  with  a  party  of  friends  on 
that  dreadful  second  night,  when  Lissagaray 
led  the  mob  and  flung  things  at  Coquelin, 
and  Sardou  sat  quietly  in  his  box  and  smiled 


Elsie  De  Wolfe,  2$  J 

at  the  tumult.  Was  I  frightened  ?  Indeed, 
and  indeed,  I  was.  I  never  expected  to  get 
out  alive;  I  knew  we  should  be  stoned  to 
death. 

"  Sardou,*'  Miss  DeWolfe  added,  "  is  the  . 
best  hated  man  in  France,  and  he  loves  it !  ^ 
He  often  says  that,  if  the  day  comes  that 
sees  his  countrymen  own   that  he  has  pro- 
duced anything  great,  he  shall  know  that  he  / 
has  reached  the  end  of  his  career.'' 

After  her  appearance  in  "Thermidor,'' 
Miss  DeWolfe  spent  two  seasons  on  the  road, 
acting  leading  parts  in  "Joseph,"  "Judge," 
and  "The  Four -in-Hand."  Returning  to 
New  York  she  played  at  the  American 
Theatre  in  "  Sister  Mary,"  her  character 
being  Rose  Reade.  Then  she  was  enrolled 
as  a  member  of  the  Empire  Theatre  Com- 
pany of  New  York.  She  assumed  with  dis- 
tinction such  parts  as  Lady  Kate  Ffennel  in 
"The  Bauble  Shop,"  with  the  John  Drew 
Company,  Lady  Charley  Wishanger  in  "  The 


256        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

Masqueraders,'*  Mrs.  Wanklyn  in  "John-a- 
Dreams/*  Mrs.  Glib  in  "  Christopher  Jr./* 
Mrs.  Mellin  Dale  in  "A  Man  in  Love," 
Leah  da  Costa  in  **A  Woman's  Reason," 
and  Mrs.  Dudley  Chumleigh  in  "Marriage." 
Last  season  Miss  DeWolfe  was  a  promi- 
nent member  of  the  famous  cast  that  pre- 
sented Henri  Lavedan's  "  Catherine  "  in  this 
country.  Her  Helene  was  in  some  respects 
the  most  remarkable  characterisation  in  the 
play.  The  r61e  itself  was  one  of  much  diffi- 
culty, combining  as  it  did  the  fiercest  passion 
and  the  refinement  of  a  woman  of  gentle 
birth  and  social  position.  Miss  DeWolfe 
revealed  a  depth  of  emotion  heretofore  un- 
suspected in  her,  and  her  appeal  to  men  was 
tremendous.  Her  acting  was  realistic  in  the 
extreme,  quiet  and  subdued,  marvellously 
simple,  yet  marvellously  complex  in  the 
motives  suggested.  Her  audacious  appeal 
to  the  man  she  loved  thrilled  one  and  set 
the  nerves  to  tingling  as  if  from  an  electric 


Elsie  De  Wolfe,  257 

shock.  A  magnificent  creature,  this  Helene, 
a  woman  to  serve  twice  seven  years  for,  even 
as  Jacob  served  for  Rachel ! 

Miss  DeWolfe's  future  is  surely  one  of 
roseate  hue.  Her  talent  is  unquestionably 
great,  and  her  position  on  the  American 
stage  is  sufficiently  advanced  to  give  her 
abilities  excellent  scope.  Moreover,  she  has, 
in  addition  to  a  thorough  stage  training,  the 
^reat  advantage  of  having  known  society  life 
^t  first  hand.  Intelligent,  ambitious,  and 
a  hard  worker;  personally  magnetic  and 
physically  attractive;  her  face  constantly 
charming  with  its  wealth  of  varying  expres- 
sion, and  her  voice  equally  fascinating  with 
its  melody  and  delicate  modulations,  she 
should  find  in  the  modern  realistic  drama 
a  field  in  which  to  prosper  and  to  win  artistic 
triumphs. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

ROSE    COGHLAN. 

Rose  Coghlan  is  an  actress  whom  the 
critics  praise  mightily,  but  whom  the  public, 
outside  of  New  York  City,  where  she  has  a 
large  personal  following,  who  bear  in  mind 
her  triumphs  with  Lester  Wallack,  has  not 
appreciated  at  her  full  worth.  Indeed,  the 
public  really  knows  very  little  about  her, 
and  this  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  she 
has  won  approbation  time  and  time  again, 
—  nay  more,  has  compelled  admiration  in 
roles  with  which  no  actress  in  the  country, 
unless  it  be  Agnes  Booth,  of  whom,  for 
some  reason  or  other,  she  always  reminds 
me,  could  have  begun  to  make  the  impres- 
sion that  Miss  Coghlan  did.  f  Miss  Coghlan 
258 


Rose  Coghlan,  259 

has  been  neglected,  because,  while  she  has  as 
an  actress  moved  the  public  emotionally  and 
intellectually,  she  has  never  succeeded  in 
touching  the  public's  heart  with  a  sense  of 
her  personal  charm,  has  never  succeeded  in 
winning  the  public's  love,  if  I  may  express 
it  in  that  way.  Consequently,  she  has  never 
created  in  the  public  mind  a  tremendous 
desire  to  see  her  on  the  stage  regardless 
of  the  play  in  which  she  appears.  Maude 
Adams  and  Julia  Marlowe  are  the  two  per- 
sons that  have  inspired  to  the  greatest  degree 
just  such  personal  idolatry,  yet  neither  of 
them  can  approach  Rose  Coghlan  in  genuine 
tragic  force ;  neither  of  them,  for  instance, 
can  portray  as  she  can  the  woman  who  loves 
mightily,  hates  bitterly,  and,  like  a  wild  beast 
at  bay,  fights  to  the  last  ditch.  \But  they 
have  in  superabundance  that  little  gift  of 
individuality,  which  means  so  much  to  the 
player,  personal  magnetism.  Every  actor 
must   have    an   appreciable   amount  of  this 


26o        Famous  Actress-es  of  the  Day, 

most  desirable  quality  to  succeed  at  all ;  a 
few  —  and  they  are  fortunate  beings,  born 
with  silver  spoons  in  their  mouths  —  have 
far  more  than  their  share,  and  they  prosper 
accordingly. 

Rose  Coghlan,  magnificent  dramatic  artist 
though  she  is,  is  surely  lacking  somewhat  in 
personal  magnetism.  She  has  been  acting 
prominent  parts  in  conspicuous  productions 
in  this  country  continuously  for  over  twenty 
years ;  she  has  always  shown  a  fine  average 
ability,  and  some  things  she  has  done  extraor- 
dinarily well ;  she  is  a  woman  of  superb 
stage  presence,  and  she  is  at  that  age  when 
she  should  be  at  the  very  height  of  her 
power  in  characters  that  call  for  the  display 
of  the  deeper  and  the  gloomier  emotions. 
.-"Yet  where  do  we  find  her.?  Playing  an 
adventuress  in  an  unusually  lurid  and  sen- 
sational melodrama,  and  even  occasionally 
appearing  in  vaudeville.  Do  not  misunder- 
l      stand  me.     I  am  not  blaming  Miss  Coghlan ; 


Rose  Coghlan,  261 

I  am  simply  outlining  a  condition  and  trying 
to  give  an  explanation.  Miss  Coghlan  prob- 
ably hates  being  in  melodrama  very  much 
more  than  we  hate  to  see  her  there.  If  any 
one  is  to  be  blamed,  it  is  the  public  that  has 
failed  to  appreciate  an  artist.  Or,  better 
still,  if  you  must  blame  some  one  or  some- 
thing, and  do  not  think  it  profitable  nor  wise 
to  censure  a  public  that,  after  all,  only  fol- 
lows its  instincts,  why,  blame  nature.  At 
any  rate  she  can't  answer  back ! 

Rose  Coghlan  was  born  in  Peterborough, 
England,  in  1853,  and  came  from  a  promi- 
nent Irish  family.  Her  father  was  Francis 
Coghlan,  the  founder  of  Coghlan's  Continen- 
tal Dispatch,  the  publisher  of  Coghlan's  Con- 
tinental Guides,  and  the  friend  of  Charles 
Dickens,  Charles  Reade,  and  other  literary 
men  of  his  time.  The  first  wife  of  Rose's 
brother  Charles  was  an  actress.  She  got 
Charles,  who  was  a  lawyer  when  he  married, 
on  the   stage,  and  later  she   did   the   same 


262         Famous  Actresses,  of  the  Day. 

thing  for  Rose.  Rose  made  her  professional 
debut  in  Greenwich,  Scotland,  as  one  of  the 
witches  in  "  Macbeth."  Soon  after  she  had  a 
chance  to  play  in  London,  and  made  quite  a  hit 
as  Tilly  Price  in  a  dramatisation  of  Dickens's 
"Nicholas  Nickleby,''  at  the  Court  Theatre, 
where  she  was  also  successful  in  various 
boys'  parts.  Engagements  with  Adelaide 
Neilson  and  John  L.  Toole  followed,  and 
then  in  1871  E.  A.  Sothern  brought  her  to 
this  country  to  appear  in  a  dramatisation 
of  Wilkie  Collins's  novel  "The  Woman  in 
White."  The  management  collapsed,  and 
Miss  Coghlan  sought  refuge  with ,  Lydia 
Thompson's  famous  blonde  burlesquers.  She 
was  then  at  Wallack's  Theatre  one  season, 
and  in  1873  returned  to  England,  playing  for 
a  short  time  with  Charles  Mathews  in  "  The 
Liar."  Miss  Coghlan's  next  venture  was  in 
the  provinces,  being  engaged  for  utility  roles 
by  Mr.  Loveday,  of  the  Theatre  Royal, 
Cheltenham.       Genevieve    Roberts    was  the 


Rose  Coghlan.  263 

leading  lady  of  the  company.  She  was  a  good 
actress,  but  a  woman  of  fiery  temper.  During 
a  ''Macbeth"  rehearsal  she  quarrelled  with 
Albert  Sydney,  the  stage  manager,  and  threw 
up  her  engagement.  Miss  Coghlan  was 
rushed  in  at  short  notice  to  play  Lady  Mac- 
beth, and  made  such  a  hit  that  she  was 
permanently  engaged  for  leading  business. 
How  this  promising  engagement  came  to  an 
abrupt  termination  is  thus  related  by  Miss 
Coghlan  : 

'*  The  amount  of  hard  work  that  I  had  to 
do  was  simply  astonishing.  I  would  come 
home  at  night,  light  my  candle  in  the  hall- 
way below,  go  to  my  room,  and  study  over 
a  part  until  I  could  no  longer  see.  Then 
when  my  brain  seemed  to  give  out  and  every 
letter  and  character  in  the  book  seemed  like 
tiny  specks,  a  multitudinous  number,  I  would 
set  my  teapot  over  the  flame  and  drink  the 
tea  as  warm  or  hot  as  I  could  get  it.  Then 
I  would  begin  to  work  and  worry  over  my 


264         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

gowns,  and  so  with  studying,  cutting,  and 
fitting,  it  was  often  daylight  before  I  was  able 
to  take  a  much  needed  rest.  The  work  was 
extremely  hard,  and  I  often  felt  discouraged, 
and  decided  to  give  it  up. 

"  Eventually  I  did  make  a  change,  and 
I  don't  believe  any  one  will  blame  me  for 
it  when  they  learn  how  it  came  about.  Mr. 
Barry  Sullivan  was  at  that  time  playing  in 
London,  and  negotiations  had  been  going  on 
for  some  time  to  have  him  appear  with  us  at 
Cheltenham  for  a  week's  engagement.  After 
Mr.  Loveday  completed  the  arrangements,  a 
*  call '  was  posted  for  a  week  of  Shakespeare. 
I  had  never  seen  any  of  these  plays,  and 
although  I  had  what  we  term  a  quick  mem- 
ory, I  knew  I  would  never  be  able  to  commit 
Shakespeare's  lines  on  such  a  short  notice. 
I  sent  for  Mr.  Loveday,  and  told  him  that  it 
would  be  impossible  for  me  to  appear  with 
Mr.  Sullivan,  and  that  he  would  have  to  get 
some  one  to  take  my  place.    He  argued  with 


•  Rose  Coghlan.  265 

me  until  I  consented  to  try.  That  night  I 
did  not  go  to  bed  at  all,  but,  try  as  I  would, 
I  could  not  memorise  the  lines  of  Portia. 
My  brain  was  tired  out  and  I  knew  I  must 
have  a  rest.  But  could  I  tell  Mr.  Loveday } 
And  the  company,  when  they  heard  of  it, 
wouldn't  they  laugh  at  and  make  fun  of  me  ? 
I  will  run  away,  I  said,  and  so  I  did. 

**  Within  a  few  miles  of  Cheltenham  there 
was  an  old  friend  of  my  mother's,  and  fre- 
quently she  begged  me  to  visit  her,  but  my 
work  made  this  impossible.  In  my  despair 
I  decided  to  go  to  her,  and  hurriedly  packing 
my  trunk,  I  engaged  a  carriage,  and  before 
the  sun  sank  in  the  west  on  that  bright  Sab- 
bath day  I  was  enjoying  all  the  comforts  of 
home." 

Miss  Coghlan  did  play  Shakespeare  with 
Barry  Sullivan  later,  however,  after  she  had 
finished  out  the  season  with  Mr.  John  Hare. 
Besides  other  characters,  with  Sullivan  she 
acted  Viola  in   "Twelfth   Night '*  over  two 


266        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day,  * 

hundred  times.  She  was  in  the  cast  that 
first  played  *'  East  Lynne "  at  St.  James's 
Theatre,  London,  and  after  that  was  the 
Lady  Manden  in  Herman  Merivale*s  great 
success,  "All  for  Her,"  which  ran  for  four 
hundred  nights  at  the  same  theatre. 

In  1877  Miss  Coghlan  again  became  a 
member  of  Lester  Wallack*s  New  York 
company,  this  time  as  leading  lady.  Her 
first  r61e  was  Clarisse  Harlowe  in  Dion 
Boucicault's  stupid  play  of  the  same  name. 
She  remained  with  Wallack  nine  years,  with 
the  exception  of  a  short  engagement  in  San 
Francisco  and  another  at  Booth's  Theatre, 
New  York,  in  a  Boucicault  play  called  "  The 
Rescue."  Miss  Coghlan  made  her  most 
brilliant  success  at  Wallack's  as  Stephanie 
in  Merivale's  "  Forget-Me-Not,"  forestalling 
accidentally  Genevieve  Ward,  who  expected 
to  introduce  this  play  into  this  country. 

"You  see,"  said  Miss  Coghlan,  "there 
was  a  delightful  misreading  of  Miss  Ward's 


Rose  Coghlan.  267 

contract  with  the  author,  and,  under  a  mis- 
conception, Mr.  Merivale  sold  the  New  York 
rights  to  Theodore  Morse,  of  Wallack's,  so 
that  when  Genevieve  Ward  arrived  at  quar- 
antine to  tour  this  country,  she  had  the 
pleasure  of  reading,  while  detained  there, 
the  criticisms  on  my  performance  of  the 
part  that  was  her  own,  —  I  had  played  it 
the  night  before,  and  made  the  hit  of  my 
life.  Of  course  she  easily  got  an  injunction, 
but  I  had  played  it ;  great  part,  too,  though 
an  adventuress  never  gets  the  full  sympathy 
of  the  audience,  however  clever  she  is." 

Miss  Coghlan  once  remarked  that  of  all 
the  characters  that  she  has  ever  assumed 
she  likes  best  of  all  Rosalind  in  "As  You 
Like  It ;  "  next  Peg  Woffington,  in  which,  by 
the  way,  she  was  very  fine,  and  after  that 
Stephanie. 

After  "  Forget-Me-Not  *'  had  been  ruled 
out  at  Wallack's,  Miss  Coghlan  originated 
the  leading  role  in   '<La  Belle  Russe,''   an 


268         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

imitation  of  the  Merivale  play.  Notable 
successes,  such  as  "The  World,"  "A  Scrap 
of  Paper,"  "The  Silver  King,"  "The  Lyons 
Mail,"  and  "  Moths,"  followed,  as  well  as 
brilliant  revivals  of  the  old  comedies.  Her 
connection  with  the  theatre  ended  in  1886, 
but  when  WaUack's  closed  its  doors  on  May 
5,  1888,  the  last  performance  being  "The 
School  for  Scandal,"  Miss  Coghlan  was  es- 
pecially engaged  for  Lady  Teazle. 

Miss  Coghlan  appeared  with  the  Union 
Square  Theatre  Company  in  1887,  acting 
Lady  Gay  Spanker,  Peg  Woffington,  Rosa- 
lind, and  Zicka  in  "  Diplomacy,"  a  remark- 
able performance.  She  was  the  Player 
Queen  in  the  star  cast  of  "  Hamlet,"  which 
was  produced  in  New  York,  May  21,  1888, 
in  honour  of  Lester  WaUack's  retirement  from 
the  stage.  That  fall  Miss  Coghlan  started 
out  as  a  star,  her  first  play  being  her  brother 
Charles's  "Jocelyn."  Productions  of  "Prin- 
cess Olga ''  and   "  The  Idol  of  the  Hour  " 


Rose  Coghlan.  269 

followed.  Then  she  tried  her  hand,  without 
much  success,  at  farcical  comedy,  from  which 
she  emerged,  in  1894,  with  the  Oscar  Wilde 
sensation,  *<A  Woman  of  No  Importance.'* 
The  next  year  she  starred  in  "  Princess  Wa- 
lanoff,"  "Diplomacy,"  and  "  Forget-Me-Not." 
Since  that  time  Miss  Coghlan  has  drifted. 
Yet  she  is  an  actress  of  the  rarest  accom- 
plishments, a  type  of  player  of  which  there 
are  but  few,  and  she  must  soon  stand  forth 
from  her  comparative  obscurity. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

MARGARET    ANGLIN. 

Margaret  Anglin  had  been  on  the  stage 
but  four  years  when  she  was  engaged  at  the 
beginning  of  last  season  to  play  Roxane  in 
Richard  Mansfield's  production  of  "  Cyrano 
de  Bergerac."  This  character,  which  she 
acted  with  unusual  artistic  taste,  brought  her 
prominently  before  the  public.  Roxane  is 
by  no  means  a  great  part.  She  is  com- 
pletely overbalanced  by  Cyrano,  a  fact  Miss 
Anglin  fully  appreciated.  She  never  un- 
duly forced  herself  into  the  picture ;  she 
invested  the  r61e  with  much  charm  and  fas- 
cination, and  she  was  dainty,  coquettish,  and 
lovely  to  the  eye.  Her  best  moment  came 
with  her  declaration  of  love  for  Cyrano  in 
270 


Margaret  A  nglin.  2 7 1 

the  last  act,  when  her  pathos  and  sincerity 
were  very  touching. 

Miss  Anglin  is  a  Canadian  girl.  She  was 
born  in  Ottawa  in  1876,  while  her  father 
was  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons. 
In  this  connection  a  peculiar  interest  attaches 
itself  to  Miss  Anglin's  birth,  for  that  im- 
portant event  in  her  life  occurred  in  the 
Speaker's  Chamber  of  the  House  of  Parlia- 
ment. Her  youth  was  passed  in  a  French 
convent  school,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen 
she  decided  to  study  for  the  stage.  She 
entered  Nelson  Wheat  croft's  school  in  New 
York,  and  while  there  appeared  in  two  plays, 
which  were  given  at  matinee  performances 
by  the  students.  Her  professional  d^but 
was  made  in  the  fall  of  1 894,  at  the  Academy 
of  Music  in  New  York,  in  a  small  part  in 
"  Shenandoah,"  then  under  Charles  Froh- 
man's  management.  The  next  season  was 
spent  on  the  road  with  a  company  of  barn- 
stormers.    The    repertory    was    varied,    as 


IT 2         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

well  as  the  conditions  under  which  the  actors 
laboured,  and  Miss  Anglin  declared  that  she 
gained  enough  stock  work  experience  in  that 
one  engagement  to  last  her  a  lifetime. 

The  season  of  1896-97  found  Miss  An- 
glin a  member  of  James  O^NeilFs  company, 
with  which  she  played  Ophelia  in  *'  Hamlet," 
Virginia  in  "Virginius,"  Julie  de  Mortemar 
in  "  Richelieu,"  and  Mercedes  in  "  Monte 
Cristo."  When  the  next  season  opened 
she  acted  in  "Lord  Chumley"  with  E.  H. 
Sothern,  being  given  the  part  of  Meg, 
the  "slavey,"  which  was  originated  by  Etta 
Hawkins.  Then  she  organised  a  company 
^  ^f  her  own  and  played  throughout  the  lower 
provinces  of  Canada.  In  her  repertory  were 
"As  You  Like  It,"  in  which,  of  course,  she 
was  the  Rosalind,  "  Christopher  Jr.,"  and 
"  The  Mysterious  Mr.  Bugle."  Miss  Anglin 
remained  with  Mr.  Mansfield  until  March, 
1899,  when  she  joined  James  O'Neill  and  ap- 
peared in  his  production  of  "The  Musketeers." 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

FAY    DAVIS. 

Fay  DA3as.~i&--^^--Ameacan  actress^^who-- 
has  never  actfid  in-America.  ..^.All  her  theat- 
rical successes  have  been  accomplished  in 
England,  where  for  a  number  of  seasons  she 
has  been  one  of  the  features  of  the  com- 
panies of  Charles  Wyndham  and  George 
Alexander.  In  this  country  we  know  her 
only  as  a  very  beautiful  girl,  tall,  slender,  and 
graceful,  and  as  an  unusually  accomplished 
reader.  Miss  Davis  was  born  in  Houlton, 
Me.,  in  December,  1869.  Her  parents  took 
her  to  Boston  when  she  was  a  little  girl,  and 
she  grew  up  in  that  city,  graduating  from 
the  Winthrop  School.  Stie  attended  several 
scliools  of  oratory  in  Boston,  but  they  did  not 
273 


274        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

seem  to  give  her  exactly  what  she  wanted, 
so  she  placed  herself  under  the  tutelage  of 
Iceland  T.  Powers,  the  monologue  enter- 
tainer, and  she  was  also  coached  by  Prof. 
J.  J.  Hayes,  of  Harvard  University.  For 
several  seasons  Miss  Davis  was  prominent 
in  lyceum  course  entertainments  throughout 
the  country,  and  she  was  also  connected 
with  several  amateur  theatrical  organisations 
in  Boston.  But  during  her  residence  in  that 
city  apparently  no  thought  of  the  profes- 
sional stage  ever  entered  her  mind. 

In  May,  1895,  Miss  Davis  and  her  sister, 
Mrs.  F.  M.  Linnell,  of  Boston,  went  to  Lon- 
don for  a  visit.  One  afternoon,  in  the  studio 
of  Felix  Moscheles,  she  was  invited  to  en- 
tertain the  artist's  friends.  She  gave  two 
or  three  selections,  and  her  success  was 
immediate.  Usually  when  a  recitation  is 
announced  the  crowd  speedily  thins.  But 
when  Miss  Davis  recited,  persons  crowded 
in  the  room,  blocked  up  the  doors,  and  even 


Fay  Davis,  275 

stood  on  the  chairs.  They  asked,  "  Who  is 
she  ?  *'  When  they  were  told  that  she  was 
an  American  reciter,  they  said,  **  Surely  she 
is  an  actress,  or  should  be  one."  She  was 
asked  to  recite  in  many  places.  Mrs.  Ron- 
alds, Madame  Nordica,  and  Mrs.  Kendall 
did  much  to  advance  her  interests,  and  Felix 
Moscheles  gave  another  brilliant  reception 
in  her  honour.  Then  when  Henry  Lorraine, 
the  veteran  English  actor,  was  given  a  bene- 
fit at  the  Criterion,  Charles  Wyndham's 
theatre.  Miss  Davis  was  asked  to  read. 

"  I  was  sitting  in  the  balcony,"  said  Mrs. 
Linnell,  in  telling  the  story,  "and  Mr. 
Wyndham  was  sitting  beside  me.  We  had 
met  him  before,  but  he  had  never  heard 
5ay  recite.  While  she  was  speaking,  he 
turned  to  me,  and  said,  '  Would  your  sister 
go  on  the  stage.?'  I  said  I  did  not  know, 
but  that  I  had  advised  her  to  do  so.  He 
said,  'If  she  will,  I  want  her.  I  am  going 
down  to  see  her  now.'     This  he  did.     He 


2/6         Famous  Actress-es  of  the  Day. 

had  a  new  play,  in  which  he  wanted  her  to 
take  the  part  of  an  American  girl.  She 
said  she  would  read  over  the  part  and  de- 
cide. He  sent  her  the  manuscript  of  *A 
Squire  of  Dames.'  The  part  was  that  of 
Zoe  Nuggetson,  a  Western  girl.  The  part 
was  written  on  the  M'liss  type,  a  rather 
rough  exaggeration.  After  Fay  had  read  it 
over,  she  sent  the  play  back,  and  told  Mr. 
Wyndham  she  couldn't  do  it.  She  said  she 
had  never  seen  any  such  girl,  nor  known  of 
one,  and  she  couldn't  play  the  part.  Upon 
that  he  said,  'Well,  write  the  part  over  to 
suit  yourself,  then,  and  play  it  as  you  have 
a  mind  to.'  This  she  eventually  did,  and 
achieved  a  remarkable  success^^ 

Miss  Davis  appeared  as  Zoe  in  November, 
1895,  and  played  the  character  all  that 
season.  At  the  close  of  the  theatrical  year 
she  went  to  the  Isle  of  Wight  for  a  rest, 
and  while  there  she  was  sent  for  by  George 
Alexander,  to  take  the   role  of  Madame  de 


Fay  Davis,  277 

Mauban  in  **The  Prisoner  of  Zenda."  She 
appeared  in  that  play  for  two  months.  Then 
she  acted  Celia  in  Mr.  Alexander's  produc- 
tion of  "As  You  Like  It,"  and  after  that 
came  her  great  success  as  Fay  Zuliana  in 
'<  The  Princess  and  the  Butterfly."  During 
the  summer  of  1897  she  toured  the  prov- 
inces, playing  the  Princess  Flavia  in  "The 
Prisoner  of  Zenda"  and  Rosalind  in  "As 
You  Like  It."  On  her  return  to  London 
she  created  the  character  of  Monica  in 
"The  Tree  of  Knowledge,"  and  she  also 
made  a  great  hit  as  Dulcie  Larondie  in  a 
revival  of  "The  Masqueraders."  Regard- 
ing this  last  performance,  the  London  Mail 
said : 

"When  originally  produced  at  the  St. 
James's  Theatre,  there  was  one  thrilling  mo- 
ment in  the  piece  that  dwarfed  all  others, 
—  the  game  at  cards.  Now  there  are  two, 
for  Miss  Fay  Davis  electrified  the  audience 
at  the  Grand  Theatre  by  her  delivery  of  the 


2^8         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

tempestuous  tirade  against  marriage  and  all 
its  works.  To  those  who  know  Miss  Davis 
only  as  the  sweet  and  sympathetic  heroine, 
the  passion  and  frenzy  of  this  outbreak  of 
a  distraught  and  broken-hearted  woman  will 
come  as  a  revelation.  The  very  heart-strings 
of  Dulcie  Larondie  seemed  to  snap,  and  the 
discord  of  overwrought  anguish  rang  in  our 
ears  and  impressed  itself  upon  our  brains. 
It  was  no  theatrical  tour-de-force,  it  was 
something  immeasurably  greater  —  a  glimpse 
into  the  heart  and  mind  of  a  real,  living 
woman,  in  whom  every  emotion  of  mater- 
nity, of  pride,  of  everything  which  makes  up 
life,  was  agonised  beyond  endurance.  By 
no  trick  or  mere  technical  skill  did  Miss 
Fay  Davis  impel  our  sympathy— but  by 
vivid  truth  and  irresistible  reality.  She 
seemed  to  be  swept  away  by  the  horror  of 
it — and  we  were  swept  away,  too.  An  ac- 
tress who  can  play  this  strenuous  scene  as 
Miss  Davis  played  it,  and  who  can  also  give 


Fay  Davis.  279 

to  us  the  charm  and  strange  pathos  of  the 
confession  of  the  wild  girl  in  *  The  Princess 
and  the  Butterfly/  has  a  range  and  a  versa- 
tility which  should  carry  her  anywhere/' 

Speaking  of  her  sister's  success,  Mrs.  Lin- 
nell  said  :  "  Fay  is  a  very  hard  worker.  She 
studies  constantly.  For  instance,  for  the  part 
of  Fay  Zuliana,  which  is  that  of  an  Italian 
girl  who  speaks  broken  English,  she  had  an 
old  Italian  woman  to  teach  her.  She  has 
studied  with  Genevieve  Ward,  who  herself 
said  to  me,  in  speaking  of  Fay,  *  I  have  lived 
in  London  for  twenty-five  years,  and  I  have 
never  seen  such  a  success.'  " 

Miss  Davis's  ddbut  in  "The  Squire  of 
Dames  "  was  dramatic  in  the  extreme.  Be- 
fore the  play  began  she  was  practically  un- 
known to  the  critics  and  the  public.  When 
the  play  ended,  the  theatre  was  ringing  with 
her  praises,  and  the  next  day  she  was  the 
talk  of  all  London.  Zoe  Nuggetson  was  not 
a  leading  part  by  any  means,  but  Miss  Davis 


28o        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

gave  it  distinction,  and  made  it  stand  out 
with  far  more  prominence  than  its  actual 
importance  demanded. 

"  There  is  one  scene  in  this  play  which  is 
worth  seeing  for  the  scene  alone/'  Clement 
Scott  wrote.  '*Mr.  Wyndham,  the  careless 
butterfly  man  of  the  water,  the  bee  that 
sucks  the  honey  from  every  passing  flower, 
has  made  a  deep  impression  on  a  rich,  nat- 
ural, straightforward  American  girl.  After 
flirting  and  coquetting,  the  pretty  American 
comes  straight  to  the  point,  and  swears  she 
will  marry  no  man  on  earth  but  this  delight- 
ful butterfly,  this  honey-sucking  bee.  In 
the  scene  there  is  not  a  trace  of  vulgarity. 
There  is  no  suggestion  of  the  stage  Yankee 
girl  about  it,.  It  is  played  to  perfection  by 
Mr.  Wyndham  and  Miss  Fay  Davis,  who  was 
nearly  encored  for  her  nature  and  brilliancy. 
Properly  considered,  it  is  a  most  affecting 
little  chapter  of  nature,  and  even  now  Miss 
Fay  Davis  may  let  herself  go  a  little  more. 


Fay  Davis,  28 1 

She  need  not  be  afraid  of  that  throb  and 
tremble  in  the  voice.  The  situation  demands 
it,  and  every  tear  drawn  here  is  to  the  credit 
of  the  general  account.  The  scene  in  itself 
was  a  genuine  bit  of  nature,  but  the  acting 
called  down  the  kind  of  enthusiasm  that 
means  so  much  when  it  is  obviously  sincere. 
The  audience  was,  in  fact,  a  little  spoiled. 
Charles  Wyndham,  Frank  Fento,  Miss  Fay 
Davis,  and  a  few  others  had  so  brought 
back  the  old  Gymnase  style  of  1864,  that 
the  lovers  of  acting  began  thinking  of  Rose 
Chere,  and  Delaport,  and  Farguell,  and  come- 
dians of  that  incomparable  style.  For  style 
is  what  these  plays  require." 

Referring  to  this  same  scene,  the  London 
Chronicle  said :  "  Miss  Fay  Davis  sustained 
her  share  of  this  excellently  written  scene 
with  exactly  the  amount  of  spirit  and  refine- 
ment that  was  required  to  convince  the  audi- 
ence of  the  sincerity  of  Zoe.  There  was  no 
banging  back,  neither  was  the  rush  forward 


282         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

too  great.  Excess  in  either  direction  might 
have  spoiled  all.  The  performance  was  ad- 
mirably balanced  throughout.  As  Zoe  her- 
self would  probably  have  said,  it  was  'just 
right.  ^ " 

After  Miss  Davis's  appearance  in  "The 
Prisoner  of  Zenda,"  Arthur  Warren  declared  : 
y^*  The  change  from  pure  comedy  ('  The  Squire 
of  Dames ' )  to  romantic  melodrama  was  a 
severe  test,  put  the  success  of  the  young 
artist  was  no  less  distinct  in  this  instance 
than  in  the  other.  Miss  Davis  is  an  artist 
who  thinks  for  herself.  She  has  given  clear 
proof  that  to  whatever  she  touches  she  will 
bring  a  new  light.  Her  predecessors  in  the 
De  Mauban  role  had  shown  us  an  adven- 
turess who  was  hard,  vindictive,  and,  not  to 
put  too  fine  a  point  upon  it,  rather  noisy. 
Miss  Davis  changed  all  this.  In  her  hands 
Antoinette  de  Mauban  was  not  an  adven- 
turess, but  a  beautiful,  high-bred  woman,  a 
loving  woman  who  risked  all  for  the  sake  of 


Fay  Davis,  283 

the  man  she  loved,  and  who  saved  the  king 
in  order  to  save  her  lover  from  the  crime  of 
killing.  The  womanliness  of  this  De  Mauban 
was  exquisitely  portrayed.  There  was  a  rare, 
rich  power,  too,  in  the  passionate  scenes,  and 
nothing  more  touching  than  her  confession 
to  the  Princess  Flavia  has  been  seen  on  the 
London  stage  in  many  a  day.'* 

The  London  critics  called  Miss  Davis's 
Celia  in  "  As  You  Like  It  "  ''  the  new  Celia.'* 
Miss  Davis  had  the  advantage  of  having  all 
the  lines  in  the  part  retained,  and  thus  her 
character  was  not  sacrificed  for  the  purpose 
of  making  a  "star"  of  Rosalind,  who,  in  this 
case,  was  played  by  Julia  Neilson.  George 
Alexander  was  the  Orlando. 

"  Miss  Fay  Davis  exercises  a  charm  all  her 
own  in  the  character  of  Celia,"  remarked  the 
London  Times,  **  Usually  Celia  is  eclipsed 
by  her  more  imposing  companion,  Rosalind. 
There  has  not  for  many  years  been  seen  so 
arch  and  graceful  and  interesting  a  Celia  as 


284         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

Miss  Fay  Davis  presents ;  her  acting  is  a 
revelation  of  the  potentialities  for  the  char- 
acter which  comes  upon  the  habitual  playgoer 
as  a  surprise/' 

The  critic  of  the  Daily  Mail  wrote : 
"There  must  go  up  one  long  cry  of  admi- 
ration for  brilliant  Miss  Fay  Davis.  Poetry 
was  in  the  heart  as  well  as  in  the  speech  of 
her  Celia,  and,  in  facial  and  vocal  play,  her 
acting  was  the  finest  of  the  afternoon/' 

Last  season  Miss  Davis  impersonated  Juliet 
Gainsborough,  in  George  Alexander's  produc- 
tions of  John  Oliver  Hobbes's  brilliant  com- 
edy, "The  Ambassador." 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

ODETTE    TYLER. 

Odette  Tyler  is  a  charming  ingenue, 
who  is  best  remembered  by  her  dainty 
acting  of  Caroline  Mittford  in  William 
Gillette's  stirring  drama,  "  Secret  Service." 
Last  season,  however,  after  a  year's  retire- 
ment from  the  stage,  she  bloomed  forth  as 
a  Shakespearian  heroine,  appearing  as  Des- 
demona  in  "  Othello,"  Juliet  in  "  Romeo 
and  Juliet,"  and  Portia  in  both  "The  Mer- 
chant of  Venice"  and  "Julius  Caesar."  After 
a  preliminary  run  around  the  country,  she 
boldly  entered  New  York  and  played  an 
engagement  of  several  weeks'  duration.  The 
experiment  was  not  half  so  disastrous  as 
might  have  been  expected,  for  the  ambitious 


286        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

actress  was  handicapped  by  a  reputation 
that  made  the  public  unwilling  to  accept 
her  as  anything  except  a  very  young  and 
rather  frivolous  girl,  as  well  as  a  company 

;  that  was  as  a  whole  decidedly  inadequate, 
and  stage  settings  that  showed  the  wear 
and  tear  of  many  years  of  arduous  service. 
While  not  accorded  any  overwhelming  praise, 
Miss  Tyler  did  win  the  respectful  consid- 
eration of  critical  writers,  and  was  given 
credit  for  dramatic  ability  much  in  excess 
of  what  she  was  generally  believed  to 
possess.  There  was  pathos  in  her  Desde- 
mona,  beauty  in  her  Juliet,  and  dignity  in 
her  Portia  in  **The  Merchant  of  Venice," 
and  under  the  circumstances  she  had  every 
reason  to  be  pleased  at  the  things  that  were 
said  of  her. 
/    Miss  Tyler's  Caroline  Mittford  in  "Secret 

f    Service"  was  a  bird  of   altogether  another 
colour.     The  character  was  that  of  a  South- 

*^"^  prn  girl  not  yet  out  of  her  teens,  a  provok- 


Odette  Tyler.  287 

ing  maiden  whose  end  in  life  seemed  to  be 
to  get  all  the  fun  possible  out  of  the  passing 
moment.  The  fact  that  the  Confederate 
cause  was  on  the  wane,  and  the  Federal 
guns  were  pounding  Richmond  day  and 
night,  apparently  did  not  trouble  her  one 
whit.  A  defeated  South  was  not  half  so 
direful  a  disaster  to  contemplate  as  the  fact 
that  she  could  not  have  a  new  gown  to 
wear  at  a  coming  party.  But  there  was 
womanliness  and  courage  in  this  miss,  though 
they  cropped  out  only  at  unexpected 
moments.  She  teased  her  boy  lover  unmer- 
cifully just  before  he  left  for  the  front, 
then  cried  as  if  her  heart  would  break  after 
he  had  gone ;  and  it  was  her  meddling, 
whether  intentional  or  not  I  am  sure  I  do 
not  know,  that  saved  the  hero-spy  when 
his  schemes  seemed  to  be  on  the  point  of 
falling  like  a  house  of  cards  about  his  head. 
A  lovable  little  lady,  indeed,  as  acted  by 
Miss  Tyler,  and  such  a  picture  in  her  big 


j 


288         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

hat  with  its  flowing  ribbons !  They  said 
that  the  hat  was  an  anachronism,  but  it 
was  too  pretty  for  any  one  really  to  care 
about   its  date. 

Miss  Tyler  is  a  Southerner  herself,  and 
comes  from  a  family  with  a  magnificent 
army  and  navy  record.  She  was  born  in 
Savannah,  Georgia,  the  daughter  of  General 
Kirkland,  a  West  Pointer,  who  fought  for 
the  lost  cause.  One  of  her  uncles  was 
General  Hardee,  the  author  of  the  famous 
Hardee  military  tactics,  and  another  was 
Admiral  Kirkland,  who  a  few  years  ago 
was  presented  by  the  Czar  of  Russia  with 
a  ten  thousand  dollar  snuff-box.  Bessie 
Kirkland  was  Miss  Tyler's  name  before 
she  went  on  the  stage.  She  is  now  mar- 
ried to  R.  D.  MacLean,  one  of  her  co- 
stars  in  her  last  season's  Shakespearian 
venture.  Miss  Tyler's  first  professional 
appearance  was  made  in  1884  in  "Sieba," 
one  of  the  Kiralfy  spectacles,  and,  although 


Odette  Tyler.  289 

she  had  only  a  few  lines  to  speak,  her  beauty- 
won  for  her  considerable  attention.  She 
was  next  engaged  by  Daniel  Frohman  for 
the  Madison  Square  Theatre  Company,  and 
made  her  ddbut  at  that  house  in  William 
Gillette's  "The  Private  Secretary/'  At 
the  conclusion  of  this  engagement  Mr. 
Frohman  loaned  her  to  Minnie  Maddern, 
who  was  then  starring,  and  Miss  Tyler 
appeared  as  a  French  actress  in  **In  Spite 
of  All,'*  and  created  the  part  of  Euridice 
Mole  in  "  Featherbrain,''  in  which  she  made 
a  decided  success.  Charles  Frohman  next 
secured  her  as  leading  comedienne  of  the 
Empire  Theatre  Company,  with  which  she 
appeared  as  the  young  widow  in  love  with 
the  Congressman  from  Jersey  in  "  Men  and 
Women  ; "  as  Polly  in  "  The  Lost  Paradise," 
making  one  of  the  greatest  hits  in  the  play 
when  it  was  produced  in  Chicago ;  and  as 
Lucy  Hawksmith  in  "The  Girl  I  Left 
Behind    Me."     She   originated   the    leading 


290  Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

r61e  in  "The  Gay  Parisians/'  and  created 
in  this  country  the  title  role  in  ''  The  Coun- 
cillor's Wife,"  a  character  made  famous  in 
England  by  Mrs.  John  Woods.  Miss  Tyler 
also  played  Gertrude  Ellingham  in  a  revival 
of  "  Shenandoah  "  by  Charles  Frohman.  She 
appeared  in  ** Secret  Service''  in  all  the 
leading  cities  of  this  country,  and  was  with 
the  company  during  its  successful  visit  to 
England. 


MARIE    BURROUGHS 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

MARIE    BURROUGHS. 

Marie  Burroughs  was  born  in  San  Jose, 
California,  and  her  name  was  Lillie  Arring- 
ton.  When  she  was  seventeen  years  old, 
she  finished  her  education  at  the  Convent 
of  the  Sacred  Heart  in  San  Francisco,  and 
soon  after  she  left  school  she  went  to  the 
theatre  for  the  first  time.  The  performance 
was  Lawrence  Barrett  in  "Yorick's  Love," 
and  the  young  girl  was  immediately  smitten 
with  a  desire  to  be  an  actress.  That  was, 
of  course,  quite  the  usual  thing,  but  Miss 
Burroughs  happened  to  have  a  friend  who 
knew  Mr.  Barrett,  and  in  this  way  she  ob- 
tained an  introduction  to  the  actor  and  an 
opportunity  to  read  before  him. 

"  I  do  not  think  that  the  poor  man  wanted 
291 


292         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

to  hear  me  at  all,"  said  Miss  Burroughs, 
"  but  he  was  civil  about  it,  although  there 
was  a  meek  and  rather  sad  expression  in  his 
face,  as  if  he  were  saying  to  himself,  '  Another 
of  them.'  What  did  I  read?  Oh,  I  think 
the  curse  scene  from  *  Leah/  When  it  was 
over  he  was  very  civil  again,  but  this  time 
not  as  if  he  were  bored.  What  he  really 
thought  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that 
he  wrote  to  New  York  about  me  in  such 
terms  that  it  was  not  long  after  that  I  had  an 
offer  to  join  the  Madison  Square  Company, 
then  under  the  Mallorys'  management." 

At  that  time  "  The  Rajah "  was  being 
played  by  that  company,  and,  as  luck  would 
have  it,  a  week  after  Miss  Burroughs's  arrival 
in  New  York  the  leading  lady  was  taken 
sick,  and  the  novice  was  called  upon  to  act 
Gladys,  an  emotional  r61e  of  considerable 
power.  The  next  play  in  which  she  took 
part  was  "Alpine  Roses,"  and  in  this  she 
acted  Irene. 


Marie  Burroughs,  293 

"With  that  part/*  Miss  Burroughs  re- 
marked, "came  my  first  sorrow.  It  came 
quickly,  and  I  thought  it  was  dreadful.  I 
had  originally  been  cast  for  an  emotional 
part.  I  had  studied  it  and  wept  over  it,  and 
I  was  intending  to  have  such  a  beautifully 
dolorous  time,  when,  imagine  my  grief !  I 
was  transferred  to  the  comedy  part.  I  was 
to  play  a  light,  frisky  role  in  place  of  all  my 
pretty  heroics.  Wasn't  that  tragic  .1  Oh,  I 
was  like  the  rest.  I  was  going  right  home. 
I  did  not  want  to  act  any  at  all  if  I  could 
not  act  as  I  wanted  to.  But  I  was  appeased 
and  made  a  hit,  and  recollect  what  a  com- 
pany that  was  to  make  a  hit  in,  —  Richard 
Mansfield,  W.  J.  LeMoyne,  George  Clarke, 
Georgia  Cay  van,  and  Mrs.  Whiffen." 

After  "Alpine  Roses,''  Miss  Burroughs 
went  on  the  road  with  the  company,  appear- 
ing in  the  repertory  that  included  "Hazel 
Kirke,"  "  Esmeralda,''  and  "After  the  Ball." 
The  tour  ended  in  New  Orleans.     Wallack's 


294        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

company  at  that  time  was  appearing  through- 
out Texas  and  when  the  troupe  was  in  Galves- 
ton, Sophie  Eyre,  who  was  acting  leading 
parts,  suddenly  left  it.  Miss  Burroughs  was 
sent  for,  and  at  forty-eight  hours'  notice  as- 
sumed the  role  of  Zicka  in  *'  Diplomacy,"  and 
after  that  the  leading  part  in  "  Lady  Clare,"  the 
Wallack  version  of  "  Le  Maitre  des  Forges." 

**That  really  was  a  great  experience," 
Miss  Burroughs  commented.  "Fancy  at 
eighteen  playing  such  a  part  as  Zicka  any- 
way, but  playing  it  at  forty-eight  hours'  notice. 
It  was  the  divine  courage  of  ignorance." 

When  she  returned  to  New  York,  Miss 
Burroughs  acted  Pauline  March  when  Robert 
Mantell  appeared  with  Jessie  Millward  in 
Hugh  Conway's  "Called  Back."  Soon  after 
A.  M.  Palmer  took  charge  of  the  Madison 
Square  Theatre,  and  Miss  Burroughs  became 
associated  with  the  famous  organisation 
identified  with  that  house.  She  created  the 
part  of  Queen  Guinevere  in  "  Elaine,"  with 


Marie  Burroughs,  295 

Annie  Russell  as  the  Lily  Maid  of  Astolat, 
and  Alexander  Salvini  as  Sir  Launcelot. 
With  Mr.  Palmer  Miss  Burroughs  first  ap- 
peared in  a  play  by  Henry  Arthur  Jones, 
with  whose  heroines  she  was  afterward  so 
thoroughly  identified  when  acting  with  E.  S. 
Willard.  The  character  that  she  played  with 
the  Palmer  company  was  Lettie  in  *'  Saints 
and  Sinners/' 

"  Mr.  Jones  came  to  New  York  to  rehearse 
'  Saints  and  Sinners/  "  said  Miss  Burroughs, 
"  and  I  have  a  picture  of  him  on  which  he 
has  written  his  name  and  *  To  my  Lettie.* 
I  shall  never  forget  that  last  rehearsal  of 
*  Saints  and  Sinners.*  It  took  place  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  day  of  the  first  performance. 
It  began  at  an  early  hour  in  the  morning. 
It  came  to  an  abrupt  end  in  the  middle  of 
the  long  afternoon,  five  hours  and  more 
later,  with  me  in  tears,  Mr.  Jones  in  a  tantrum, 
and  the  whole  company  in  disorder,  and  only 
the  third  act  reached.     What  was  the  mat- 


296         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

ter  ?  Oh,  nothing  much,  only  the  play  had 
been  rehearsed  too  much  and  we  were  all 
unstrung.  The  whole  weight  of  it  came  on 
Mr.  Stoddart  and  me,  and  every  one  was  so 
anxious  for  me  to  do  well.  The  stage  mana- 
ger was  full  of  ideas  about  the  part ;  Mr. 
Jones  was  in  a  similar  condition ;  each  mem- 
ber of  the  company  had  taken  me  aside  and 
given  me  a  point  here  and  there  and  their 
opinion  of  how  to  do  it,  and,  alas  !  I  had  a 
few  ideas  myself  which  I  was  hoping  to  get 
a  chance  to  work  in.  That  was  the  result. 
We  dragged  along  miserably,  until  I  broke 
down  and  began  to  cry,  and  then  the  men, 
of  course,  got  the  thing  over  as  soon  as 
possible,  and  the  rehearsal  was  dismissed  in 
despair.  We  had  just  time  to  eat  and  get 
back  to  the  theatre  and  start  the  play,  with  the 
idea  that  we  were  momentarily  approaching 
the  place  where  the  rehearsal  stopped  so  sum- 
marily. As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  part  we  didn't 
rehearse  went  better  than  that  which  we  did/' 


Marie  Burroughs,  297 

With  Mr.  Palmer  Miss  Burroughs  also 
acted  Florida  in  ''A  Foregone  Conclusion/' 
Marjory  in  "  Marjory's  Lovers,"  and  ap- 
peared in  "  Partners,"  "  Heart  of  Hearts," 
"Captain  Swift,"  and  other  plays.  In  1889 
Miss  Burroughs  went  to  London  and  saw 
Mr.  Willard  in  "The  Middleman,"  though 
at  that  time  she  had  no  idea  of  playing  with 
him  in  this  country.  Olga  Brandon  was  en- 
gaged for  the  English  actor's  support  in  the 
United  States,  but  at  the  last  moment  re- 
fused to  leave  London.  Then  Miss  Bur- 
roughs got  her  opportunity,  and  her  work 
with  Mr.  Willard  added  greatly  to  her  rep- 
utation. During  his  successive  tours  she 
appeared  as  Mary  Blenkern  in  "The  Middle- 
man," Vashti  Dethic  in  "  Judah,"  Kate  Nor- 
bury  in  "John  Needham's  Double,'*  the 
leading  female  character  in  "Wealth,"  Lucy 
in  "The  Professor's  Love  Story,"  and  Ophe- 
lia in  "  Hamlet." 

In  the  fall  of  1 894  Miss  Burroughs  started 


298         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

out  as  a  star,  presenting  for  the  first  time 
in  this  country  Arthur  W.  Pinero's  drama, 
"The  Profligate,"  and  after  that  making 
productions  of  "  Romeo  and  Juliet "  and 
"Leah."  In  the  spring  of  1898  she  was 
associated  with  Robert  Hillard,  and  last 
season  she  appeared  with  Stuart  Robson  in 
Augustus  Thomas's  comedy,  **The  Med- 
dler." While  Miss  Burroughs's  starring 
venture  showed  that  she  hardly  had  suffi- 
cient power  alone  to  carry  a  play  to  success, 
she  is  nevertheless  one  of  the  most  thor- 
oughly equipped  and  most  satisfactory  lead- 
ing women  that  we  have.  She  makes  a 
strikingly  beautiful  picture  on  the  stage  ;  her 
face  is  one  of  much  sweetness  and  her  per- 
sonality one  of  great  charm.  As  Vashti  in 
"Judah"  she  is  at  her  best.  It  is  an  im- 
personation of  great  delicacy,  winsomely  ten- 
der and  touchingly  pathetic. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

KATHRYN    KIDDER. 

Kathryn  Kidder  won  her  spurs  in  the 
fall  of  1895  by  her  impersonation  of  the 
laundress  and  bourgeoise  aristocrat  in  Sar- 
dou's  **  Madame  Sans-Gene,"  and  her  appear- 
ance in  this  role  was  a  piece  of  brilliant 
audacity.  When  Sardou  finished  "Madame 
Sans-Gene/'  he  sent  a  copy  of  the  play  to 
his  American  agent  with  instructions  to  sell 
the  rights  to  present  the  piece  in  this  coun- 
try for  $5,000.  Charles  Frohman  looked  the 
drama  over  and  did  not  like  it ;  A.  M.  Palmer 
could  find  nothing  in  it  to  warrant  him  risk- 
ing a  production,  and  Augustin  Daly  also 
refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  it.  So 
the  manuscript  drifted  around,  seeking  a  pur- 
299 


300         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

chaser,  until  by  some  chance  or  other  it  fell 
into  Miss  Kidder's  hands.  With  superb 
courage  she  invested  all  her  little  capital  in 
the  gg^medy,  and  then  began  a  weary  hunt 
for  a  manager.  She  met  with  rebuffs  every- 
where, until  Augustus  Pitou  finally  consented 
to  help  her  out.  Her  sweet  revenge  came 
when  R6jane  made  her  phenomenal  success 
in  the  drama  in  Paris.  Mr.  Daly  wanted  a 
new  play  for  Ada  Rehan,  and  decided  that 
"Madame  Sans-Gene"  would  just  about  fill 
the  bill  Consequently  Miss  Kidder  had  the 
gratification  of  refusing  an  offer  of  ^15,000 
for  the  American  rights  of  which  she  was 
the  undisputed  owner.  Mr.  Pitou  gave  the 
drama  a  magnificent  production,  and  then 
Miss  Kidder's  triumph  was  complete. 

Miss  Kidder  was  born  in  Newark,  New  Jer- 
sey, and  was  the  granddaughter  of  the  Rever- 
end D.  P.  Kidder,  a  prominent  Newark  divine. 
The  old  Kidder  homestead  was  situated  in 
the  heart  of  the  city,  and  was  a  quaint  old 


Kathryn  Kidder,  30 1 

mansion,  well  remembered  by  the  residents 
of  Newark  as  one  of  the  prettiest  home  spots 
of  the  place.  Miss  Kidder's  beginnings  on 
the  stage  were  attended  with  difficulty,  for, 
in  addition  to  her  own  inexperience  and  lack 
of  acquaintanceship  in  theatrical  circles,  she 
had  to  contend  with  the  open  hostility  of 
her  family.  Her  debut  was  made  in  1885, 
when  she  was  seventeen  years  old,  as  Wanda 
in  "Norbeck,"  a  dramatisation  by  Frank 
Mayo  from  a  German  novel  by  Mrs.  Werner, 
called  "  Vineta.*'  Mr.  Mayo  hoped  to  repeat 
his  Davy  Crockett  success  with  this  play, 
which  had  a  number  of  fine  situations,  but 
it  hardly  met  his  expectations,  though  he 
continued  it  in  his  repertory  for  several  sea- 
sons. Miss  Kidder  stayed  in  Mr.  Mayors 
company  about  a  year,  and  then  acted  in 
"  Held  by  the  Enemy ''  during  its  run  at  the 
Madison  Square  Theatre,  New  York.  After 
that  she  went  to  Paris  to  study,  and  during 
the  twelve  months  that  followed  she  learned 


302         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

fencing,  stage  dancing,  and  French,  besides 
constantly  attending  the  theatres,  especially 
the  Comedie  Frangaise. 

On  her  return  to  this  country  she  played 
Dearest  in  **  Little  Lord  Fauntleroy,"  during 
the  play's  long  stay  in  New  York,  and  then 
went  on  the  road  with  a  "fly  by  night'* 
company,  of  which  Joseph  Haworth  was  the 
leading  man. 

"  I  went  out  with  the  repertoire  for  expe- 
rience, and  I  had  it,"  said  Miss  Kidder. 
"We  travelled  to  Texas  and  the  far  West, 
and  wandered  from  the  North  to  the  South 
of  the  land.  We  played  everything.  Noth- 
ing was  too  tremendous  for  us  to  attempt, 
nothing  too  ambitious  for  us.  The  salary 
was  poor,  the  exigencies  of  dress  many,  for^ 
I  had  to  have  all  sorts  of  costumes,  and  the 
travel  was  hard,  yet  I  count  that  one  of  the 
most  valuable  and  happiest  times  of  my 
career.  I  cannot  say  that  I  never  knew 
fatigue,  for  I  was  often  very  heartily  and 


Kathryn  Kidder.  303 

healthily  tired,  but  I  can  say  that  I  never 
knew  that  mental  weariness  that  arises  from 
the  necessity  of  having  night  after  night  to 
re-dress,  mentally,  a  part  of  which  you  have 
grown  thoroughly  tired,  and  yet  must  still 
play." 

Miss  Kidder  came  back  to  New  York 
feeling  that  she  had  served  her  apprentice- 
ship, and  hoping  that  she  might  find  a  place 
in  the  theatrical  world  worthy  of  the  ability 
that  she  knew  she  possessed.  There  seemed 
to  be  nothing  for  her,  however,  and  again 
she  went  abroad  for  a  second  period  of  study. 
When  she  returned  home  this  time  she  found 
"  Madame  Sans-Gene  "  awaiting  her. 

"  I  worked  eighteen  months  on  *  Madame 
Sans-Gene'  before  I  produced  it,"  she  said. 
"After  R6jane  made  her  great  hit  in  it,  I 
went  to  Paris  and  saw  the  French  produc- 
tion. I  sat  the  play  through  seven  times, 
not  that  I  wished  to  or  intended  to  give  an 
imitation  of    Madame    R6jane,   but   because 


304        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

I  wanted  to  master  every  detail  of  the  busi- 
ness and  the  method  of  securing  effects.  I 
worked  very  hard  in  preparing  the  piece, 
and  I  worked  with  a  perfect  calmness  that 
appalled  my  friends.  I  cannot  say  that  I  was 
exactly  indifferent,  but  I  do  say  that  I  be- 
came reconciled  to  any  fate.  If  the  play  had 
failed  or  succeeded,  it  would  have  been  all 
the  same  to  me.  You  remember,  perhaps, 
that  universally  people  said  that  I  could  not 
play  the  part.  Well,  to  this  my  mind  was 
made  up,  —  either  way  it  settled  my  future. 
If  I  failed  I  should  accept  the  fact  that  the 
career  of  a  player  was  not  my  proper  sphere, 
and  if  I  succeeded  I  should  keep  on  in  the 
same  spirit.  I  was  anxious  for  the  verdict, 
that  was  all,  anxious  that  I  might  have  a 
quiet  conscience  at  least.  That  mood  had 
such  a  strong  hold  on  me  that  on  the  opening 
night  I  barely  heard  the  applause,  and  when 
I  read  the  morning  papers  with  so  much  of 
praise  and  nothing  of  blame  I  wondered  at 


Kathryn  Kidder,  305 

myself  that  I  could  not  feel  elated.  It  was 
simply  the  settling  to  me  of  a  vexed  problem 
in  my  own  favour." 

After  her  success  with  "  Madame  Sans- 
Gene/'  which  she  continued  to  present  for 
two  seasons,  Miss  Kidder  turned  her  at- 
tention to  classic  rdles,  one  of  her  note- 
worthy characters  being  Rosalind  in  "As 
You  Like  It."  Last  season  she  was  a 
member  of  the  Louis  James-Kathryn  Kidder- 
Frederick  Warde  combination,  which  was 
well  received  throughout  the  South  and 
West  in  Shakespeare*  s  plays  and  in  several 
of  the  old  comedies. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

HELENA    MODJESKA. 

Helena  Modjeska,  a  Pole  by  birth  and 
a  dramatic  artist  of  reputation  in  her  own 
country  before  she  left  it  in  1876  practically 
an  exile,  first  acted  in  the  United  States  in 
1877  at  San  Francisco,  having  accomplished 
in  nine  months  the  great  task  of  mastering 
the  English  language  sufficiently  for  stage 
purposes.  This  feat  was  a  characteristic 
achievement,  which  showed  the  indomitable 
will,  the  wonderful  energy,  and  the  mental 
capacity  of  this  remarkable  woman,  who, 
during  a  theatrical  career  thirty-eight  years 
in  duration  and  world-wide  in  its  triumphs, 
has  always  been  identified  with  the  seri^ 
ous  drama,  and  has  never,  even  amid  dis- 
306 


Helena  Modjeska.  307 

couragement  and  misfortune,  forsaken  her 
artistic  ideal.  Modjeska  loves  her  art,  and 
she  delights  to  exercise  it  in  congenial  sur- 
roundings. She  was  for  many  years  a  tragic 
actress  of  unusual  power,  but  of  late  years 
her  acting  has  lost  somewhat  in  force.  She 
retains,  however,  much  of  her  delightful  per- 
sonal charm,  and  the  delicacy  of  her  work, 
its  dignity,  refinement,  pathos,  and  tenderness 
are  still  noteworthy.  As  a  student  she  is 
entitled  to  a  foremost  place  among  actresses. 
She  follows  the  uncommon  method  of  ap- 
proaching her  characters  —  especially  her 
Shakespearian  characters  —  fr9m  the  stand- 
point of  the  critic  rather  than  from  that  of 
the  histrion ;  she  views  them  intellectually 
instead  of  emotionally ;  her  first  question 
is.  What  does  it  mean  ?  and  not,  How  shall 
I  express  it  1 

Modjeska  illustrates  excellently  well  how 
far  separated  are  the  tragic  actress  and  the 
emotional  actress,  using  emotion  in  its  modern 


3o8         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

stage  sense  as  applied  to  such  parts  as  Mar- 
guerite Gauthier  in  "  Camille/'  It  has  been 
many  times  proved  that,  while  a  tragic  actress 
can  successfully  act  the  semi-hysterical  Mar- 
guerite Gauthier,  an  actress  whose  only  claim 
to  attention  lies  in  her  effectiveness  in 
emotional  rdles  finds  herself  lost  in  the  en- 
vironment of  the  poetic  drama.  The  purely 
emotional  requires  only  the  dramatic  instinct, 
coupled,  of  course,  with  adequate  stage  expe- 
rience ;  poetry,  on  the  other  hand,  requires,  in 
addition  to  dramatic  instinct  and  stage  expe- 
rience, intellectual  appreciation  and  grasp  of 
the  character  assumed  as  a  whole.  Now,  the 
modern  actress  who  is  emotional  by  training 
—  or  rather  because  of  lack  of  training  — 
cannot  see  a  character  as  a  whole,  and  she 
fails  in  the  poetic  drama,  not  because  she 
cannot  grasp  the  significance  of  poetry,  but 
because  she  has  never  been  taught  properly 
to  study  and  assimilate  a  character.  Accus- 
tomed to  the  weak    character-drawing    and 


Helena  Modjeska,  309 

overwhelming  incident  of  the  modern  drama, 
she  has  formed  the  habit  of  working  up  her 
part  by  piecemeal,  and  not  only  has  she  not 
trained  herself,  she  absolutely  does  not  know 
what  it  means,  to  present  a  conception  that 
in  the  first  act  fully  and  logically  compre- 
hends the  last  act.  Modjeska,  some  time 
ago,  vividly  expressed  the  idea  as  follows : 

"  I  never  undertake  a  r6le  unless  I  can  see 
it  before  me.  The  idea  in  my  mind  must 
stand  out  before  me  so  that  I  can  see  it,  look 
at  it.  It  must  be  an  impersonation,  a  pres- 
ence, and  unless  I  can  see  it  so  I  will  not 
play  it.  I  have  tried  to  study  Lady  Macbeth, 
but  I  cannot  see  her  yet.  I  do  not  bring  her 
before  me  nor  do  I  see  how  she  would  act 
and  look,  and  until  I  do  I  will  never  try  to 
play  her.  A  character  must  prefigure  itself 
before  me  before  I  grasp  it,  and  when  it  does 
not  I  wait.'' 

"  Do  you  find  that  you  can  analyse  your 
success  }  '*  she  was  asked.    *'  That  is,  when  the 


3  lO         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

spell  is  perfect  can  you  tell  why  it  is  so,  or 
what  has  produced  the  perfection  of  artistic 
illusion  ? " 

"Never,"  she  returned.  "I  have  been  ill 
and  played  better  than  I  ever  did  before. 
Then  I  have  been  ill  and  not  played  well. 
So  it  is  with  playing  when  I  was  well.  I 
cannot  say  that  I  have  succeeded  to-night 
because  I  was  well  or  ill,  or  happy,  or  anx- 
ious, or  satisfied.  The  combination  of  subtle 
elements  that  unite  to  produce  that  intangi- 
ble and  indefinable  thing  we  name  success  is 
something  I  cannot  grasp  nor  define,  for  it 
is  in  the  spiritual  conditions.  Now  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson has  what  he  calls  his  *  demon,'  and  if 
his  demon  is  not  with  him  he  cannot  play 
well.  I  call  mine  my  angel,  and  I  say  unless  | 
my  angel  is  with  me  I  cannot  play  to-night./ 
f  Modjeska's  theatrical  life  in  America  is 
closely  interwoven  with  that  of  Ecjwia. Booth, 
whom  she  so  much  resembles  in  the  matter 
of  poetic  temperament.     It  was  Booth  who 


Helena  Modjeska.  311 

encouraged  her  to  try  her  fortune  in  this 
country.  In  1876  Modjeska,  who  was  then 
striving  to  make  both  ends  meet  in  an  experi- 
mental Pohsh  colony  in  California,  first  saw 
Booth  play.  She  was  anxious  to  act  with 
him  then,  but  she  could  not  speak  English. 
Friends  proposed  that  she  give  Ophelia  in 
French  to  Booth's  Hamlet  in  English,  but 
Booth  was  not  willing  to  sacrifice  the  time 
for  rehearsals  that  such  a  venture  would 
require.  He  did,  however,  consent  to  a 
private  reading  by  Modjeska,  who  gave  in 
French  scenes  from  Corneille,  Racine,  and 
Dumas.  The  **Medae"  recitation  in  "Adri- 
enne  Lecouvreur"  was  among  her  efforts, 
and  also  a  scene  from  "  Camille."  From 
Schiller's  "  Robbers  "  a  declamation  in  Ger- 
man was  made,  and  in  Polish  a  fine  poem,  — 
"  Hagar  in  the  Wilderness.'* 

Booth  was  so  impressed  with  her  evident 
genius  that  he  advised  her  to  study  English. 
Nine  months  later  she  presented  "  Adrienne 


312         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

Lecouvreur/'  the  play  with  which  nine  years 
before  she  had  conquered  the  prejudices  of 
Warsaw,  in  San  Francisco,  and  was  enthu- 
siastically received.  Modjeska's  first  appear- 
ance on  the  same  stage  with  Booth  was  on 
April  30,  1883,  when  she  acted  Juliet  to  his 
Romeo,  at  the  closing  of  the  unfortunate 
Booth's  Theatre  in  New  York.  On  May  21, 
1888,  when  **  Hamlet "  was  given  with  a 
great  star  cast  for  Lester  Wallack's  benefit, 
Booth  appearing  as  Hamlet,  and  Joseph 
Jefferson  and  William  Florence  as  the  two 

(grave-diggers,  Modjeska  was  the  Ophelia. 
The  next  year  she  became  associated  with 
Booth  in  a  starring  tour. 

Modjeska  was  born  in  Cracow,  Poland,  at 
the  time  of  Poland's  troubles  with  Austria. 
Her  father,  Michael  Opido,  was  a  Tatra 
mountaineer,  and  a  man  of  much  natural 
refinement,  fond  of  art  and  music.  Modjes- 
ka's  first  recollection  is  a  peculiar  incident 
connected  with  her  father's  death.     Michael 


Helena  Modjeska.  313 

Opido  caught  cold  while  attending  a  sick 
friend,  and,  accompanied  by  one  of  his  sons, 
went  to  the  mountains  to  recuperate.  A  few 
days  after  his  departure  the  mother  and  chil- 
dren were  sitting  together  when,  without  any 
knock  or  announcement,  a  peasant  woman 
entered  the  room.  She  took  no  notice  of  the 
family,  but  walked  straight  across  the  room  to 
another  door,  her  head  bowed,  her  hands 
crossed  on  her  breast.  Madame  Opido  started 
up.  "  What  do  you  want }  "  she  cried,  but 
got  no  answer.  The  apartment  had  but  one 
entrance,  and  the  room  which  the  peasant 
woman  approached  had  no  other  door  but  the 
one  by  which  she  could  enter.  "  Do  not  go 
there,"  cried  Madame  Opido,  "  there  is  no 
way  out  but  this.**  The  woman  took  no 
notice,  but  went  through  the  doorway. 
Madame  Opido  rushed  after  her,  but  she 
was  not  there  —  she  had  vanished.  "Did 
you  not  see  her  1 "  she  asked  of  the  children. 
*♦  Where  has  she  gone  t  **     None  of  the  chil- 


314         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

dren  had  seen  her  except  Helena.  Madame 
Opido  remembered,  now  that  the  vision  had 
passed,  that  the  woman  wore  the  peasant 
dress  of  the  mountaineers ;  all  day  long  she 
wept  bitterly,  expecting  to  hear  some  terrible 
news  of  her  husband,  and  on  the  morrow 
came  the  intelligence  that  he  had  died  at  the 
very  hour  when  this  apparition  of  the  peasant 
had  visited  the  family. 

After  her  father's  death,  Modjeska's  earli- 
est remembrance  of  her  childhood  is  that  of 
seeing  a  man  shot  in  the  street.  There  was 
a  great  scream  outside  the  house ;  the  chil- 
dren all  ran  to  see  what  it  could  be,  and,  as 
they  rushed  out,  saw  the  blood  flow  from  the 
wound.  They  were  familiar  with  the  sights 
and  sounds  of  fighting;  and  Modjeska  can 
well  remember  hiding  behind  a  wall  to  pick 
up  shot  and  gather  it  in  her  pinafore. 

When  Modjeska  was  seven  years  old  she 
was  taken  to  the  theatre  for  the  first  time, 
and  the  experience  so  excited  her  that  her 


Helena  Modjeska,  3 1 5 

mother   declared  that   she  should  never  go 
again.     Consequently,  she  was  fourteen  years 
old  before  she  got   a   second    sight   of   the 
inside  of  a  playhouse,  although  in  the  mean- 
time two  of  her  brothers  had  become  actors. 
The   play   was    "  Hamlet,'*    acted   by    Fritz 
Devrient,  and  from  that  time  dated  Modjes- 
ka's  fondness    for    Shakespeare.       She  was 
married  to  her  guardian,  Modrzejewski  (from 
which  comes  Modjeska),  when  she  was  seven- 
teen years  old,  and  her  husband  aided  her  in 
her  ambition  to  be  an  actress  by  organising  a 
small  travelling   company.       It  was  quite  a 
family  affair,  being  composed  of  herself,  her 
husband,  who  was  manager,  her  sister  and 
her  sister's  husband,  and  three  of  her  brothers. 
C  Modjeska' s  wardrobe  consisted  of  two  dresses,  ,v 
a  white  one  for  comedy  and  a  black  one  for 
tragedy?     Modjeska' s  husband  died   shortly 
after  this,  and  for  several  years  she  acted  in 
various  theatres,  in  small   Polish  towns.     In 
1865  she  returned  to  her  native  Cracow  to 


3 1 6         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

play  leading  parts  in  the  theatre  there,  with 
which  her  half-brother,  Felix  Benda,  was  also 
connected.  Soon  her  fame  spread  all  over 
Poland,  and  she  even  received  proposals  to 
appear  in  France  and  Germany.  Alexander 
Dumas,  Jils^  invited  her  to  come  to  Paris  and 
play  Marguerite  Gauthier  and  other  of  his 
characters,  but  she  refused  to  leave  Poland. 
In  1868  Modjeska  was  married  to  Charles 
Chlapowski,  Count  Bozenta,  and  immediately 
after  came  her  great  triumph  in  Warsaw. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  Modjeska's  first 
engagement  at  the  Warsaw  Theatre  was  the 
result  of  an  American  innovation,  Count 
Monkhanoff,  the  new  manager,  being  de- 
sirous of  infusing  new  life  into  the  slow- 
going  establishment,  engaging  her  for  twelve 
performances,  on  terms  similar  to  those  of  a 
regular  star  engagement.  This  was  the  in- 
novation against  which  the  majority  of  the 
members  of  the  Warsaw  Theatre  conspired, 
and,  to  effect  their  purposes,  an  attack  was 


Helena  Modjeska,  317 

made  on  the  new  actress  by  the  leading 
journal  of  the  city,  the  chief  editor  of  which 
was  the  husband  of  the  principal  tragedi- 
enne of  the  theatre.  Though  other  papers 
condemned  the  attack  as  unjustifiable,  it 
depressed  the  spirits  of  Modjeska,  while  in- 
creasing the  public  interest  in  her  debut. 
At  her  first  rehearsal  some  of  her  opponents 
in  the  company  persuaded  her  to  select 
"Adrienne  Lecouvreur*'  for  her  first  pub- 
lic appearance,  as  they  thought  she  would 
certainly  fail  in  it.  By  the  advice  of  an  old 
friend,  she  acted  very  poorly  at  the  rehearsal 
of  **  Adrienne,''  and  a  few  days  before  her 
public  appearance  in  the  part  the  wife  of 
the  editor  who  had  attacked  her  took  her 
place,  through  the  influence  of  the  cabal,  in 
the  absence  of  the  president  of  the  company 
from  Warsaw.  The  object  of  the  substitute 
was  to  take  off  the  prestige  of  novelty  from 
the  play,  and  crush  by  comparison  the  new 
actress.     But  the  poor  acting  of  her  enemy 


3i8         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

encouraged  Modjeska,  and,  although  attacked 
by  a  terrible  stage  fright  at  the  beginning, 
she  ended  by  having  a  complete  success, 
which  was  crowned  by  the  congratulations 
of  the  great  actors  of  the  company,  and  the 
unanimous  plaudits  of  the  press. 

The  next  year  Modjeska  was  permanently 
/engaged  by  the  Warsaw  Theatre,  and  re- 
mained there  until  political  difficulties  com- 
pelled her  and  her  husband  to  leave  Poland. 
After  her  successful  debut  in  San  Francisco, 
Modjeska  played  in  the  United  States  for 
two  seasons,  and  then,  after  a  short  visit 
to  Poland,  she  made  her  first  appearance  in 
London,  in  1880.  She  acted  in  "Mary 
Stuart,"  "The  Old  Love  and  the  New," 
"  Romeo  and  Juliet,"  "  Adrienne  Lecouvreur," 
and  "  Heartease,"  a  version  of  "  Camille." 
She  played  continuously  for  a  year  in  the 
English  metropolis,  where  her  work  was 
much  admired. 

Since  then  Modjeska  has  passed  most  of 


Helena  Modjeska.  319 

her  time  in  this  country,  and  her  theatrical 
career  has  been  one  of  continued  triumph. 
In  January,  1895,  while  playing  in  Cincin- 
nati, she  was  taken  seriously  ill,  and  com- 
pelled to  retire  from  the  stage  for  three 
years,  which  period  was  passed  on  her  ranch 
in  California.  Last  season  she  successfully 
toured  the  country,  repeating  many  of  her 
best  known  characters,  and,  in  addition,  pro- 
ducing Shakespeare's  "Anthony  and  Cleo- 
patra," regarding  which  the  critic  of  the 
Brooklyn  Eagle  wrote : 

"  Her  Cleopatra  is  a  creature  of  passion, 
confident  in  the  variety  of  her  arts  to  charm, 
and  unscrupulous  in  the  use  of  them,  but, 
withal,  a  woman  not  wholly  depraved,  and 
one  who  comes  to  love  Anthony  with  the  full 
strength  of  a  woman's  soul,  and  to  grieve  for 
him  dead  as  deeply  as  she  ever  sighed  for  him 
living.  The  high  points  of  the  performance 
are  the  pathos  of  her  grief  over  Anthony's 
body,  and  the  classic,  sculptural  beauty  of  her 


320         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

own  death,  in  which  the  economy  of  means  to 
the  result  produced  was  the  very  acme  of  tech- 
nical artistic  excellence.  But,  like  Modjeska's 
other  characters,  her  Cleopatra  is  not  to  be 
judged  by  any  single  scene.  It  is  the  exqui- 
site harmony,  and  the  proportion  of  all  her 
scenes  to  each  other,  which  places  her  upon 
a  higher  plane  than  actors  who  have  more 
power  in  single  moments.  In  her  early 
scenes  of  cajolery  with  Anthony,  she  shows 
much  of  the  diversity  and  charm  which  mark 
the  forest  scenes  of  her  Rosalind,  with  craft 
substituted  for  Rosalind's  innocent  gaiety. 
The  variety  and  beauty  of  the  early  part  of 
the  scene  upon  the  terrace,  where  she 
mourns  for  Anthony,  absent  in  Rome,  are 
matchless.  When  the  news  of  his  marriage 
to  Octavia  comes,  there  is  a  Bernhardtesque 
fierceness  about  her  treatment  of  the  mes- 
senger. The  wrath  is  clearly  prescribed  by 
Shakespeare ;  it  gives  variety  to  her  Cleo- 
patra, and  it  is  theatrically  effective,  but  to 


Helena  Modjeska,  321 

one  observer,  at  least,  it  seemed  less  excel- 
lent than  almost  any  large  scene  in  the  play ; 
perhaps  because  it  is  so  obvious  and  easy, 
and  Modjeska  ordinarily  scorns  obvious 
things,  and  emphasises  the  more  obscure 
side  of  her  characters.  The  calm  contempt 
and  utter  absence  of  fear  with  which  she 
received  the  reproaches  of  Anthony  were 
admirable,  and  the  queenly  confidence  with 
which  she  approached  him  once  more  to  try 
her  blandishments  was  superb.  In  that 
movement  spoke  the  'proud  ruler  of  a 
hundred  kings.' " 

Modjeska's  Shakespearian  repertory  in- 
cludes Beatrice,  Cleopatra,  Imogen,  Juliet, 
Lady  Macbeth,  Portia,  Ophelia,  Rosalind, 
and  Viola.  Qutside  of  Shakespeare  there  is 
her  great  part,  Adrienne  Lecouvreur,  besides 
Andrea  in  *'  Prince  Zillah,"  Camille,  Donna 
Diana,  Julie  de  Mortemar  in  "Richelieu,*' 
Gilberte  in  "  Frou-Frou,"  Magda,  which 
she  created   in  this   country,    Mary    Stuart, 


322         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

"Nadjezda,"  Nora  in  Ibsen's  "A  Doll's 
House,"  Countess  Von  Lexon  in  "  Daniela," 
Louise  Greville  in  "The  Tragic  Mask,"  and 
Marie  de  Verneuil  in  "  Les  Chouans." 


MAY    ROBSON 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

MAY    ROBSON. 

May  Robson  is  that  rarest  thing  among 
women,  a  genuine  eccentric  comedy  actress. 
I  do  not  recall  at  this  moment  that  she 
has  ever  shown  her  own  face,  which,  by  the 
way,  is  a  very  pretty  one,  on  the  stage,  and 
she  has  no  hesitancy  whatever  about  making 
herself  as  ugly  or  as  ridiculous  as  grease 
paint,  comical  wigs,  and  outlandish  costumes 
will  admit.  The  types  that  she  caricatures 
are  widely  differentiated,  and  her  invention 
in  the  line  of  character  parts  apparently  has 
no  limitations.  Of  course,  she  burlesques 
beyond  all  reason,  but  to  burlesque  is  the 
common  failing  of  all  eccentric  comedians, 
who  naturally  think  more  of  a  laugh  than 
323 


324         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day. 

they  do  of  an  artistic  impersonation.  Miss 
Robson,  however,  is  funny  enough  to  be 
forgiven,  and  her  characters,  moreover,  have 
the  saving  grace  of  originality,  for  she  never 
imitates. 

Her  last  "  study  "  was  with  "  Lord  and 
Lady  Algy,*'  at  the  Empire  Theatre,  New 
York,  and  the  appearance  of  the  old  fright 
of  a  mother  at  the  fancy  dress  ball  in  the 
second  act,  costumed  as  a  shepherdess  "  after 
Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,'*  was  one  of  the  most 
laughable  entrances  imaginable.  Previous  to 
that,  she  played  Poulette  in  "The  Conquer- 
ors," and  this,  besides  being  a  character 
study,  was  to  a  degree  a  study  in  character. 
Poulette  was  a  French  grisette,  who  had 
grown  old  in  the  service,  whose  physical 
attractiveness  had  faded,  and  whose  mind 
was  vacuity.  Miss  Robson  might  have  tried 
to  make  the  creature  pathetic,  in  which  case 
she  would  probably  have  only  succeeded  in 
making  her  disgusting.     She  chose  the  sim- 


May  Robson.  325 

pier  and  safer  course,  and  her  Poulette,  with 
her  chalked  and  rouged  face,  her  high  pen- 
ciled eyebrows,  and  her  kittenish  manner, 
was  comical. 

**  What  the  brush  is  to  the  artist,"  said 
Miss  Robson,  in  describing  how  she  makes 
up,  "  niake-up  is  to  the  actor.  I  cannot  act 
without  it.  How  do  I  put  it  on  }  Mix  it 
with  brains,  as  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  said. 
Observe,  watch,  experiment ;  that's  the  way. 
{^ou  often  hear  young  actresses  complaining 
that  they  can't  understand  how  the  veterans 
in  the  business  get  such  perfect  make-ups.. 
By  observing,  that's  how ;  not  on  the  stage, 
but  in  the  street,  in  street  cars,  elevated 
cars,  —  everywhere.  The  born  actress  is 
always  seeing  types.  She  stores  them  away 
in  her  memory  for  future  use.  Why,  an 
actor  or  actress  who  is  worth  his  salt  is  as 
constantly  on  the  lookout  for  fresh  character 
studies  as  a  painter.  Some  are  comic.  The 
lines  of  the  face  irresistibly  suggest  laughter. 


326         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

Perhaps  such  people  are  more  to  be  pitied 
than  the  others  whose  faces  tell  a  moving 
tale  of  sorrow  and  suffering.  But  all  are 
of  use.  They  suggest  make-ups,  expression, 
character.  It's  the  only  way  to  be  perfectly 
natural,  —  to  imitate  nature,  and  have  a 
definite  type  in  mind  in  outlining  every 
part. 

"When   I   began,   of  course  I  wanted  to 
look   pretty. •  "I   was   cast  for   the   part   of 

I  Tilly  in  the  *  Hoop  of  Gold,'  and  I  had  the 
idea  that  I  ought  to  have  pretty  dresses, 
red  cheeks,  fluffy  hair,  and  all  that.  But 
common  sense  came  to  my  rescue,  and  I 
saw  I  was  on  the  point  of  making  an  artis- 
tic blunder,  or,  rather,  an  inartistic  one.     I 

1 
saw  that  Tilly  wasn't  a  society  girl,  but  a 

puny   thing,    with   prominent    cheek-bones, 

rough    hands,    and    a  gawky   figure,    and    I 

made   her    so.      I've    played    many   a   part 

since,   but   the  first   in   which   I   ever   used 

a  juvenile  make-up  was  Audrey  in  a  perform- 


May  Robson,  327 

ance  given  by  the  Twelfth  Night  Club  last 
year.  I  made  her  uncouth,  but  not  homely, 
with  an  awkward  body  and  a  nasal  voice. 

"  Now,  here's  a  glimpse  at  the  technique 
of  make-up.  For  Audrey  I  used  a  blonde 
make-up,  —  first  a  careful  coating  of  cold 
cream,  the  flesh-coloured  grease  paint, 
smoothed  carefully  for  the  buxom  country 
girl's  beautiful  complexion.  I  was  then 
ready  for  my  No.  18  rouge,  blended  first 
with  a  rabbit's  foot,  and  then  with  my  fin- 
gers. Then  I  covered  my  face  with  rice 
powder.  I  used  a  blue  shading  over  and 
under  my  eyes,  blended  so  as  to  give  them 
that  round,  innocent,  wondering  expression ; 
then  the  Cupid's-bow  mouth  and  the  wig, 
and  there  you  are.  By  shading  and  tinting, 
by  lines  above  and  below  and  at  the  sides, 
an  actress  can  give  herself  any  expression. 
But  she  must  know  how  to  do  it ;  she 
must  be  an  artist  and  an  observer,  and  her 
brush  must  be  skilful.  "1 


( 


328         Famotis  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

*<In  some  characters  I  use  no  make-up, 
or  rather  a  trick  make-up,  like  that  in  '  The 
Sphinx/  In  that  I  use  a  small,  stiff  wire 
propped  between  the  nostrils,  so  as  to  make 
the  nose  wider  and  flatter.  Sort  of  a  Kal- 
miik  face.  The  sensation  is  unpleasant,  but 
not'  alDsolutely  painful.  For  that  matter, 
grease  paint  is  not  the  pleasantest  thing  to 
have  on  the  face,  but  you  get  used  to  it. 
Of  course,  I  have  to  have  wigs  to  match 
i  every  part.  That  is  something  the  actress 
can't  make  for  herself,  but  she  can  design, 
invent,  and  devise,  and  the  wigmaker  can 
be  made  to  follow  her  directions.  The  same 
is  true  of  the  costumer;  and  of  course  both 
wigmaker  and  costumer  are  oftenest  called 
upon  to  imitate  nature,  to  imitate  painstak- 
ingly some  queer,  odd,  or  pathetic  bit  of 
human  material  picked  up  in  the  street  by 
the  actress  herself.  I'll  give  you  an  instance. 
As  Miss  Prim  in  *The  Importance  of  Being 
Earnest,'  I  got  my  idea  of  the  make-up  from 


May  Robson.  329 

a  poor,  overworked  farmer's  wife,  tired  and 
worn  by  care  and  worry,  whom  I  had  known. 
I  studied  the  Hnes  in  her  face,  and  imitated 
them  so  that  I  won  the  sympathy  of  the 
audience. 

"Some  actresses  think  that  a  juvenile 
make-up  is  simple  —  just  a  few  daubs  of 
rouge,  lines  under  the  eyes,  red  on  the  lips, 
and  so  on.  But  it's  not  so  easy.  One  girl 
should  put  white  on  the  inside  of  the  eyelid, 
because  the  pupils  of  her  eyes  are  too  large 
for  the  rest.  Another  should  use  the  directly 
opposite  method  of  loading  the  lashes  with 
cosmetics,  because  the  pupil  is  encircled  with 
white  and  she  needs  the  colour.'* 

May  Robson,  whose  name  is  Mary  Robison 
and  who  was  rechristened  by  a  blundering 
compositor  when  she  made  her  first  appear- 
ance on  the  stage,  was  born  in  Australia. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  English  people  of 
high  standing,  her  father  being  an  officer  in 
the  British  navy.     She  was  educated  in  Paris 


330        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

and  Belgium.  In  Paris  she  took  the  prize  of 
the  Red  Cross,  the  highest  form  of  gradua- 
tion at  the  school  Sumboiselle,  and  the  pro- 
ficiency in  French  that  she  acquired  during 
her  school  days  later  stood  her  in  good 
stead.  When  she  was  a  mere  girl  she  ran 
away  from  home  and  married/'and  her  life 
for  the  next  few  years  was  an  unhappy  one. 
She  finally  found  herself  a  penniless  widow 
in  New  York  with  three  little  children  to 
care  for.  She  could  draw  and  paint  rather 
cleverly,  and  she  started  to  fight  poverty 
with  these  modest  talents.  She  decorated 
china,  painted  on  satin,  and  designed  dinner 
menus,  between  times  sandwiching  in  several 
classes  in  painting.  Affairs  seemed  to  pros- 
per with  her  for  a  time,  for  the  craze  of  china 
painting  was  at  its  height,  and  orders  from 
Tiffany's  and  other  firms  were  plenty.  Then 
the  fad  passed  over,  and  the  money  did  not 
come  in  so  rapidly.)  Sickness  entered  the 
little  home,  and  two  of  the  children  died, 


May  Robson.  331 

one  from  scarlet  fever,  the  other  from  diph- 
theria. These  were  indeed  gloomy  times 
with  the  plucky  woman. 

"There  wasn't  a  soul  belonging  to  me," 
said  Miss  Robson,  "  who  ever  had  been  able 
to  recite  even  '  Mary  had  a  little  lamb,'  and  I 
had  no  more  intention  of  going  on  the  stage 
than  you  have  this  minute,  when  one  day  I 
was  passing  Simmons  &  Brown's  theatrical 
agency,  and  the  idea  seized  me  to  go  up  and 
apply  for  a  situation  in  some  company.  I 
went  up,  and  while  I  was  waiting  my  turn 
to  see  Mr.  Simmons,  I  overheard  Mr.  Han- 
Ion,  one  of  the  Hanlon  Brothers,  endeavour- 
ing in  vain  to  get  a  lot  of  American  girls, 
whom  he  was  trying  to  engage,  to  understand 
him.  On  the  impulse  of  the  moment  I  offered 
my  services  as  a  French  interpreter.  After 
we  got  through  Hanlon  turned  to  me  and 
asked  me  if  I  was  open  for  an  engagement. 
I  said  I  was,  and  then  and  there  he  engaged 
me  to  play  the  French  widow  in  *  Le  Voyage 


332         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

en  Suisse.'  That  was  Saturday.  The  next 
day  he  took  me  to  the  Grand  Central  station 
to  meet  his  brother,  who  was  to  pass  through 
the  city,  to  have  the  bargain  clinched.  Said 
his  brother,  *  And  how  long  have  you  been 
f    on  the  stage  t '     *  Never  was,'  said  I,  and  the 


( 


brother  who  had  engaged  me  without  asking 
the  pivotal  question  disappeared  down  the 
platform  as  if  shot  from  a  gun.  Mr.  Hanlon 
could  not  risk  putting  an  important  role  in 
the  hands  of  an  ignoramus  on  matters  theat- 
ric, and  the  next  day  I  turned  up  again  at  the 
agency  and  related  the  circumstances  of  my 
sudden  fall  from  high  hopes. 
7>  u  The  upshot  of  it  all  was  that  a  friend  told 
-me  that,  though  I  had  talent,  he  thought,  yet 
I'd  never  get  an  engagement  if  I  said  I  had 
had  no  experience.  What  I  must  do  was  to 
>^  pretend  I  had.  Before  long  I  was  engaged 
to  play  Diamond  in  'The  Hoop  of  Gold,'  a 
melodramatic  creation  of  the  cast-off-daugh- 
ter-of-an-obdurate-father  style.     This  was  at 


May  Robson,  333 

the  Madison  Square  Theatre.  The  morning 
of  the  first  rehearsal  came.  I  had  been  told 
to  watch  the  others,  and  do  just  as  they  did. 
My  turn  came.  'Take  the  stage,'  said  the 
stage  manager,  old  Mr.  Morse.  If  he  had 
told  me  to  take  the  sky,  I'd  have  been  as 
wise.  I  clutched  the  table  behind  me  and 
piped  up  my  lines  in  a  thin  little  voice,  and 
was  horribly  conscious  that  the  others  were 
guying  me  for  my  greenness.  The  stage 
manager  walked  over  to  me  and  said,  '  How 
long  have  you  been  on  the  stage  } '  I  never 
had  told  a  deliberate  lie,  and  it  choked  me. 
I  hemmed  and  hawed  and  said,  *  Let  me  see, 
let  me  see.'  *  Let  me  see,'  said  Mr.  Morse, 
looking  straight  into  my  eyes,  *I  should 
say  about  fifteen  minutes.'  *Yes,'  I  said, 
glad  it  was  out,  and  expecting  my  walking- 
ticket.  But  he  helped  me  after  the  rehear- 
sal, and  the  next  day  I  wasn't  so  very 
dreadful. 

'^  There  was  a  small    character  part,   the 


334        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

slavey  Tilly,  in  that  same  play  that  I  asked 
to  be  allowed  to  do,  having  even  then  a 
fondness  for  dialect  and  odd  specimens  of 
humanity.  On  the  opening  night  I  made  a 
hit,  but  it  was  as  the  slavey,  not  as  Diamond, 
and  thereafter  I  was  billed  to  play  that  part, 
while  '  Di '  was  put  on  the  bills  as  played  by 
some  faked  name.  And  that's  how  I  went 
on  the  stage,  without  malice  prepense,  sure 
enough.'* 

After  "The  Hoop  of  Gold  "  Miss  Robson 
was  engaged  by  Daniel  Frohman  for  the 
Lyceum  Theatre.  Later  she  came  under 
Charles  Frohman's  management,  and  has 
for  many  seasons  been  identified  with  the 
Empire  Theatre  Company.  In  her  way 
Miss  Robson  is  something  of  an  inventor, 
and  her  third  leg  in  "The  Poet  and  the 
Puppets,"  and  her  amazing  wig  in  "The 
Councillor's  Wife,"  are  readily  recalled  as 
examples  of  her  ingenuity.  The  leg  was 
first  used,   some   six   months   before    "The 


May  Robson.  335 

Poet  and  the  Puppets  '*  was  produced,  in 
"The  Shining  Light,"  but  it  was  perfected 
and  made  a  feature  in  the  later  show. 

"I  invented  the  leg,"  Miss  Robson  ex- 
plained, "because  I  couldn't  dance,  and 
because  I  had  to  dance  in  my  part  as  a 
caf ^  chantant  woman  in  '  A  Shining  Light/  I 
had  either  to  dance  or  to  admit  that  I  wasn't 
up  to  the  business.  Of  course  I  couldn't 
do  the  latter,  so  I  had  to  devise  some  way  to 
do  the  dance.  One  day  I  was  walking  down 
Broadway  when  I  happened  to  see  in  a  win- 
dow one  of  those  artificial  legs  on  which  they 
display  stockings.  An  idea  struck  me,  and 
I  hurried  home  to  try  it.  I  stuffed  a  stock- 
ing, put  a  shoe  on  it,  and  then  stuck  my 
husband's  cane  into  it.  I  put  an  extra  skirt 
around  this  leg  and  tried  the  effect  before 
the  looking  glass.  It  was  funny,  very  funny. 
I  then  went  to  a  maker  of  artificial  limbs  and 
told  him  what  I  wanted.  Of  course  I  altered 
the  mechanism  some  afterward,  as  I  found 


336         Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

by  experience  where  changes  had  to  be  made. 
The  leg  was  attached  by  a  socket  to  a  loose 
belt  which  I  could  easily  shift,  so  that  in 
a  moment  I  could  have  the  extra  member 
hanging  in  front,  at  either  side,  or  behind. 
The  mechanism  was  so  arranged  that  all 
I  had  to  do  was  to  start  the  leg  in  a  certain 
direction,  and  up  it  went  the  rest  of  the  way 
itself.  Now  my  idea  about  this  whole  busi- 
ness was  that  the  three  legs  should  not  be 
shown.  When  I  danced  I  stooped  in  such  a 
way  as  to  conceal  my  real  right  leg  under  my 
skirts,  and  then  the  artificial  limb  took  its 
place.  I  only  showed  all  three  limbs  when 
I  was  leaving  the  stage  and  wanted  to  give 
the  joke  away." 

The  wig  in  "  The  Councillor's  Wife  "  was 

also  something  of  a  dancing  wonder.     The 

/audience  on  the  first  night   thought,  when 

I    the  bangs  made  a  dive  for   the   old   lady's 

V:^ose,  that   it   was  all  a  mistake.     The   old 

lady's    discomfiture,  they  thought,  was  that 


May  Robson,  337 

of  the  actress  in  not  being  able  to  control 
her  wig,  and  the  house  rang  with  laughter 
as  she  straightened  her  bangs  and  her  cork- 
screw curls.  When  the  old  lady  became 
extremely  angry  and  the  bangs  shot  far 
back  on  the  head,  revealing  six  inches  of 
bald  pate,  the  audience  howled  with  glee, 
as  they  watched  the  actress  gesticulating 
and  repeating  her  lines  with  great  fervour, 
apparently  unaware  that  her  hair  was  coming 
off.  At  another  time  the  bangs  went  over 
the  right  eye,  and  then  over  the  left,  and  the 
audience  still  thought  it  was  all  a  mistake. 

"There    was    really   nothing   remarkable 
about  that  wig,"  was   Miss   Robson's    com- 
ment,  when   asked    to    explain   how  it  was 
/dolne.      "The  hair  was   controlled  by  wires 

/^which  ran  around  the  head.     They  met  at 
the  top  of  the  knot  of  my  own  hair,  which 

',    was  coiled  at  the  nape  of  the  neck.     At  that 
,  place  one  wire  was  attached,  which  passed 

"down  my  back  and  under  my  arm,  coming 


338        Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day, 

out  of  a  buttonhole  in  front.  It  was  by  this 
wire  and  a  few  artful  shakes  of  the  head  that 
the  bangs  were  thrown  about  the  head.  They 
could  not  fall  off,  as  the  wires  would  allow 
them  to  go  only  a  certain  distance  each  way." 
Miss  Robson,  in  private  life,  is  Mrs. 
Augustus  H.  Brown,  the  wife  of  a  New 
York  physician,  whom  she  married  after 
she  became  an  actress,  and  her  home  in 
that  city  is  a  model  of  comfort  and  elegance. 
She  has  been  before  the  public  about  fifteen 
years  now.  As  representative  of  her  work 
may  be  mentioned,  in  addition  to  those  char- 
acters already  noticed,  her  appearances  as 
Miss  Ashford  in  "The  Private  Secretary," 
Artemise  in  *<A  Night's  Session,"  Vene- 
randa  in  "  Foregone  Conclusions  ;  "  her  act- 
ing in  *' Gloriana,''  "Lady  Bountiful,"  and 
"  Liberty  Hall ; "  and  her  personation  of  the 
landlady  in  the  production  of  "  Squirrel  Inn," 
by  the  Theatre  of  Arts  and  Letters,  and  her 
Madame  Benoit  in  "Bohemia." 


INDEX 

OF 

FAMOUS   ACTRESSES. 


"Across  the  Continent," 
Fiske,  Mrs.,  60. 
Rehan,  Ada,  115. 
Ada     Houghton,     "  Sealed 
Instructions,"  Annie  Rus- 
sell as,  90. 
Ada    Ingot,    "David    Gar- 
rick,"   Annie    Russell   as, 

93- 

Adams,  Annie,  13. 

Adams,  Maude,  11,  103. 

Adrienne,  "  Monsieur  Al- 
phonse,"  Mrs.  Fiske  as,  60. 

"Adrienne  Lecouvreur," 
Helena  Modjeska  in,  311, 
317,318,  321. 

"  Adventure  of  Lady  Ur- 
sula," Virginia  Harned  in, 
125,  133. 

**  After  the  Ball,"  Marie 
Burroughs  in,  293. 

"  Alabama,"  LilUan  Law- 
rence in,  241. 

Aldrich,  Louis,  131. 

Alexander,  George,  273,  276, 
283,  284. 


Alfred,     "  Divorce,"      Mrs. 

Fiske  as,  61. 
Alice       Adams,      "  Nathan 

Hale,"  Maxine  ElUott  as, 

108. 
Alice  Varney,  "  Forget-Me- 

Not,"  Maxine   Elliott  as, 

III. 
Allen,  C.  Leslie,  138. 
Allen,  Mrs.  C.  Leslie,  138. 
Allen,  Viola,  134. 
"  All  for  Her,"  Rose  Cogh- 

lan  in,  266. 
"  Alpine  Roses,"  Marie  Bur- 
roughs in,  292. 
"  Amazons," 

Irving,  Isabel,  103. 
Lawrence,  Lillian,  241. 
"  Ambassador,"  Fay   Davis 

in,  284. 
"Ambition,"  Annie  Russell 

in,  93. 
"American    Assurance," 

Blanche  Walsh  in,  78.  ' 
"  American  Citizen,"  Maxine 

Elliott  in,  112. 


339 


340  Index  of  Famous  Actresses, 


"  Americans  Abroad," 
Conquest,  Ida,  70. 
Lawrence,  Lillian,  241. 

Amy    Chilworth,    "  Liberty- 
Hall,"   Ida   Conquest  as, 

71. 

"  Amy    Robsart,"    Blanche 

Walsh  in,  76. 
Anderson,  Mary,  116. 
Andrea,      "  Prince     Zillah," 
Helena  Modjeska  as,  321. 
Anglin,  Margaret,  270. 
Ann  Cruger,  "  Charity  Ball," 
Lillian  Lawrence  as,  233, 
240. 
**  Anthony  and    Cleopatra  " 
(Shakespeare),    Helena 
Modjeska  in,  319,  321. 
"  Antony    and     Cleopatra " 
(Sardou),  Blanche  Walsh 
in,  72. 
"  Aristocracy," 

Allen,  Viola,  146. 
Walsh,  Blanche,  77. 
Arnold,  Matthew,  214. 
Arrington,  Lillie,  Marie  Bur- 

rougbs's  name,  291. 
Artemise, "  Night's  Session," 

May  Robson  as,  338. 
Arthur,  Julia,  iii,  161. 
"  As  You  Like  It," 

Anglin,  Margaret,  272. 
Arthur,  Julia,  167,  170. 
Coghlan,  Rose,  267. 
Davis,    Fay,    277,    283, 

284. 
Irving,  Isabel,  103. 
Kidder,  Kathryn,  305. 
Marlowe,  Julia,  32. 
Modjeska,  Helena,  321. 
Rehan,  Ada,  120,  122. 


Robson,  May,  326. 
Shaw,  Mary,  216. 
Audrey,  "  As  You  Like  It," 
Irving,  Isabel,  103. 
Robson,  May,  326. 

Babiole,  "  Conquerors,"  Ida 

Conquest  as,  71. 
"  Bachelor's    Baby,"    Lillian 

Lawrence  in,  239. 
"  Bachelor's      R  o  m  a  n  c  e," 

Blanche  Walsh  in,  80. 
Balthazar,      "  Romeo     and 
Juliet,"  Julia  Marlowe  as, 
28. 
Bandmann,  Daniel  E.,  165. 
"  Banker's  Daughter," 

Lawrence,  Lillian,  241. 
LeMoyne,    Sarah  Cow- 
ell,  42. 
Banks,  Maude,  208. 
Barbara  Hare,"East  Lynne," 

Ada  Rehan  as,  116. 
Barrett,  Lawrence,  45,   141, 

189,  291. 
Barrett,  Wilson,  151. 
Barron,  E.  A.,  36. 
Bartet,  Mile.,  252,  253,  254. 
Barry,  Helen,  215. 
Bates,  Blanche,  243. 
Bates,  F.  M.,  243. 
"  Bauble  Shop," 

Adams,  Maude,  16. 
DeWolfe,  Elsie,  255. 
Beatrice,  "  Much  Ado," 
Marlowe,  Julia,  32. 
Modjeska,  Helena,  321. 
Rehan,  Ada,  121. 
Beatrice     Selwyn,     "  Fool's 
Paradise,"  Maxine  Elliott 
as,  no. 


J 


Index  of  Famous  Actresses. 


341 


"  Because  She  Loved  Him 
So,"    Ida    Conquest     in, 

71- 
Belasco,  David,  194,  252. 
"  Belle  Russe,"  Rose  Cogh- 

lan  in,  267. 
"  Belle's    Stratagem,"   Julia 

Marlowe  in,  ^tZ- 
Bellew,  Kyrle,  157. 
"  Bells  of  Haslemere,"  Viola 

Allen  in,  144. 
"Benefit  of  a  Doubt,"  Ida 

Conquest  in,  71. 
Berenice,      "  Sign     of     the 

Cross,"  Corona  Riccardo 

as,  152. 
Bernhardt,  Sarah,  74,  227. 
Bess,  "Charity  Ball,"   Effie 

Shannon  as,  192. 
Bianca,     "  Taming    of     the 

Shrew,"  Ada  Rehan    as, 

116. 
Big    Clemence,   "  L'Assom- 

moir,"  Ada  Rehan  as,  1 18. 
"  Bit  of  Old  Chelsea,"  Mrs. 

Fiske  in,  66. 
"  Black  Mask,"  Julia  Arthur 

in,  165. 
Blair,  John,  206. 
"  Blot  on  the   'Scutcheon," 

Viola  Allen  in,  141. 
"  Blue  Jeans,"  Lillian  Law- 
rence in,  233. 
"  Bohemia," 

Conquest,  Ida,  70. 
Robson,  May,  338. 
Booth,  Agnes,  59,  258. 
Booth,  Edwin,  116,  310. 
Booth,  J.  B.,  59. 
"  Bosom      Friends,"      Mrs. 

Fiske  in,  61. 


Boston  Museum,  144,  189, 
210,  211,  212,  213. 

Boucicault,  Dion,  211. 

"  Boys  and  Girls,"  May  Ir- 
win in,  180. 

Brandon,  Olga,  297. 

"  Broken  Hearts,"  Annie 
Russell  in,  90. 

"  Broken  Seal,"  Julia  Arthur 
in,  165. 

Brough,  Fanny,  Julia  Mar- 
lowe known  as,  32. 

"Bundle  of  Lies,"  Maxine 
Elliott  in.  III. 

Burroughs,  Marie,  90,  291. 

Byron,  Oliver  Doud,  60,  115. 

"  Camille," 

Modjeska,  Helena,  308, 

321. 
Nethersole,   Olga,  223, 
226. 
Campbell,  Mrs.  Patrick,  223. 
"  Caprice,"  Mrs.  Fiske  in,  64. 
"  Captain  Lettarblair," 

Harned,  Virginia,  132. 
Lawrence,  Lillian,  242. 
"  Captain  Swift," 

Bates,  Blanche,  246. 
Burroughs,  Marie,  297. 
Lawrence,  Lillian,  241. 
Russell,  Annie,  93. 
Carey,  "  Alabama,"  Ida  Con- 
quest as,  70. 
"  Carmen,"  Olga  Nethersole 

in,  223,  229. 
Caroline    Mittford,   "  Secret 
Service,"  Odette  Tyler  as, 
285,  286. 
Carter,  Mrs.  Leslie,  193. 
Cartwright,  Charles,  222. 


342  Index  of  Famvus  Actresses. 


"  Caste," 

Lawrence,  Lillian,  241. 

Rehan,  Ada,  116. 
"Catherine," 

De Wolfe,  Elsie,  256. 

LeMoyne,Sarah  Cowell, 

39- 

Russell,  Annie,  95. 
Cay  van,  Georgia,   103,   187, 

293- 
"  Celebrated  Case," 

Lawrence,  Lillian,  241. 
LeMoyne,  Sarah  Cow- 
ell, 42,  44. 
Celia,  "As   You   Like   It," 
Fay   Davis  as,   277,    283, 
284. 
"  Charbonniere,"  Viola  Allen 

in,  143. 
"  Charity  Ball," 

Bates,  Blanche,  246. 
Conquest,  Ida,  70. 
Lawrence,  Lillian,   233, 

241. 
Shannon,  Effie,  187,  192. 
"  Chatterton,"  Julia  Marlowe 

in,  '},Z' 
Cheney,  B.  P.,  166. 
"  Chicago  Fire,"  Mrs.  Fiske 

in,  61. 
"  Child  Wife,"  Mrs.  Fiske  in, 

64. 
"  Christian,"  Viola  Allen  in, 

134,  146. 
"  Christopher,  Jr.," 

Adams,  Maude,  16. 
Anglin,  Margaret,  272. 
De  Wolfe,  Elsie,  256. 
Lawrence,  Lillian,  241. 
Cicely  Homespun,  "Heir-at- 
Law,"  Viola  Allen  as,  146. 


"City   Directory,"    May   Ir- 
win in,  183. 
"City    of    Pleasure,"    Effie 

Shannon  in,  192. 
Clapp,    Henry    Austin,    39, 

170. 
Clara,  "  Across   the   Conti- 
nent," Ada  Rehan  as,  115. 
Clara   Dexter,  "  Maister   of 

Woodbarrow,"      Virginia 

Harned  as,  132. 
Clarke,  Annie,  210. 
Clarke,  George,  131,  293. 
Claxton,  Kate,  238. 
Clemmons,  Katherine,  238. 
Cleopatra  (Sardou),  Blanche 

Walsh  as,  74. 
Cleopatra        (Shakespeare), 

Helena  Modjeska  as,  319, 

321. 
Clorinda    Wildairs,    "  Lady 

of  Quality,"  Julia  Arthur 

as,  167,  168. 
Coghlan,  Charles,  261. 
Coghlan,  Rose,  iii,  191,  258. 
"  Colinette,"  Julia  Marlowe 

in,  ZZ^ 
"  Colombe's  Birthday,"  Julia 

Marlowe  in,  ZZ' 
"  Colonial     Girl,"     Virginia 

Harned  in,  133. 
"Conquerors," 

Allen,  Viola,  146. 
Conquest,  Ida,  71. 
Robson,  May,  324. 
Walsh,  Blanche,  80 
Conquest,  Ida,  69. 
Coquelin,  254. 
Cordelia,  "  King  Lear," 
Allen,  Viola,  141. 
Rehan,  Ada,  116. 


Index  of  Famous  Actresses. 


343 


"  Coriolanus,"  Effie  Shannon 

in,  192. 
"  Corsican    Brothers,"    Vir- 
ginia Hamed  in,  131. 
*'  Councillor's  Wife," 
Robson,  May,  334. 
Tyler,  Odette,  290. 
Countess     Mirtza,     "  Great 
Ruby." 

Bates,     Blanche,     246, 

247. 
Riccardo,  Corona,  153. 
"Countess   Valeska,"    Julia 

Marlowe  in,  34. 
Countess  Von  Lexon, "  Dan- 
iela,"    Helena    Modjeska 

as    "^22. 

"  Country  Girl,"  Ada  Rehan 

in,  120. 
"  Country  Sport,"  May  Irwin 

in,  184. 
"  Courtship  of  Leonie,"Mary 

Mannering  in,  1 59. 
"Cowboy   and    the    Lady," 

Maxine  Elliott  in,  112. 
Crehan,  Ada,  Ada  Rehan's 

name,  114. 
"  Crust  of   Society,"  Lillian 

Lawrence  in,  239. 
"  Cyrano  de  Bergerac," 

Anglin,  Margaret,  270. 
Lawrence,  Lillian,  243. 
Rehan,  Ada,  121. 
Cyprienne, "  Divor9ons," 

Mrs.  Fiske  as,  68. 

Daly,  Augustin, 

Bates,     Blanche,     243, 

246. 
Elliott,  Maxine,  iii. 
Fiske,  Mrs.,  60. 


Irving,  Isabel,  102. 
Irwin,  May,  179. 
Rehan,  Ada,    113,    117, 

119,  123. 
Riccardo,  Corona,  153. 
Shannon,  Effie,  191. 
Shaw,  Mary,  212,  214. 
"  Dancing  Girl," 

Bates,  Blanche,  246. 
Conquest,  Ida,  70. 
Harned,    Virginia,    125, 
132. 
"  Dangerfield,    '95,"    Annie 

Russell  in,  94. 
"  Danicheffs,"  Sarah  Cowell 

LeMoyne  in,  42,  45. 
"  Daniela,"      Helena      Mo- 
djeska in,  322. 
Daphne,  "  First  Gentleman 
of    Europe,"  Mary    Man- 
nering as,  159. 
"  Daughter      of     Comedy," 

Ada  Rehan  in,  122. ' 
Davenport,  E.  L.,  60. 
Davenport,  Fanny,  72,  117, 

119,  212,  214. 
"  David   Garrick,"   Blanche 

Walsh  in,  77. 
Davis,  Fay,  273. 
*  Dean's    Daughter,"   Olga 

Nethersole  in,  221. 
DeBelleville,  Frederic,  144. 
"Denise,"  Olga  Nethersole 

in,  223. 
Desdemona,  "  Othello," 
Allen,  Viola,  141. 
Rehan,  Ada,  116. 
Riccardo,  Corona,  149. 
Tyler,       Odette,       285, 

286. 
Walsh,  Blanche,  76. 


344  Index  of  Famous  Actresses. 


DeWolfe,  Elsie,  248. 

Diamond,  "  Hoop  of  Gold," 
May  Robson,  332. 

Diana  Stockton,  "  Aristoc- 
racy," Blanche  Walsh  as, 

Diane,  "  Monbars,"  Corona 

Riccardo  as,  1 53. 
"  Diplomacy," 

Burroughs,  Marie,  294. 
Coghlan,      Rose,     268, 

269. 
Elliott,  Maxine,  iii. 
Lawrence,  Lillian,  241. 
Nethersole,  Olga,  222. 
Shannon,  Effie,  192. 
Shaw,  Mary,  2n. 
Dithmar,  E.  A.,  16. 
"  Divorce," 

Fiske,  Mrs.,  61. 
Lawrence,  Lillian,  242. 
Rehan,  Ada,  119. 
"  Divor9ons,"  Mrs.  Fiske  in, 

66,  68. 
"  Dollars  and    Sense,"  Ada 

Rehan  in,  120. 
"  Doll's  House," 

Bates,  Blanche,  246. 
Fiske,  Mrs.,  65,  209. 
Modjeska,  Helena,  322. 
Donna  Diana,  Helena  Mo- 
djeska as,  321. 
Dora,  "  Diplomacy," 

Elliott,  Maxine,  iii. 
Shannon,  Effie,  192. 
Dorothea  March, "  Woman's 
Silence,"  Isabel  Irving  as, 
103. 
Dot    Bradbury,    "  Midnight 
Bell,"  Maude  Adams  as, 
16. 


"  Double     Lesson,"    Isabel 

Irving  in,  10 1. 
Dow,  Ada,  28. 
Drew,  John,  16,  99,  103, 115, 

255- 
Drew,  Mrs.  John,  115. 
"  Drop    of    Poison,"    Mary 

Shaw  in,  215. 
Drusilla     Ives,      "  Dancing 

Girl,"  Virginia  Harned  as, 

125,  126. 
Duchess  de  Coutras, "  Cath- 
erine," Sarah  Cowell  Le- 

Moyne  as,  39. 
Duke    of    York,    "  Richard 

III.,"  Mrs.  Fiske  as,  56. 
Dulcie  Larondie,  "  Masquer- 

aders,"     Fay    Davis    as, 

277. 
Duse,  Eleanora,  82. 

Fabienne  Lecoulteur,  "Ther- 
midor,"  Elsie  DeWolfe  as, 

253- 
"  Face   in   the    Moonlight," 
Corona  Riccardo  in,  153. 
"  False     Shame,"     Virginia 

Harned  in,  131. 
Fanny,     "  Captain     Lettar- 
blair,"    Virginia    Harned 
as,  132. 
"  Fatal  Card," 

Lawrence,  Lillian,  241. 
Russell,  Annie,  93. 
Fay  Zuliani,  "  Princess  and 
the  Butterfly," 

Davis,  Fay,  277,  279. 
Mannering,  Mary,  159. 
"  Featherbrain," 

Fiske,  Mrs.,  64. 
Tyler,  Odette,  289. 


Index  of  Famous  Actresses. 


345 


"Fedora,"  Blanche  Walsh 
in,  1Z,  75- 

Felica  Umfraville,  "  Middle- 
man," Maxine  Elliott  as, 
no. 

"  Femme  de  Claude,"  Mrs. 
Fiske  in,  66. 

Fento,  Frank,  281. 

Field,  R.  M.,  211. 

"  First  Gentleman  of  Eu- 
rope," Mary  Mannering 
in,  159. 

Fiske,  Minnie  Maddem,  50, 
208,  289. 

Florence  Marygold,  "  My 
Uncle's  Will,"  Blanche 
Walsh  as,  76. 

Florence,  William,  145,312. 

"  Fogg's  Ferry,"  Mrs.  Fiske 
in,  63. 

«  Fool's  Paradise," 

Elliott,  Maxine,  no. 
Nethersole,  Olga,  221. 

"  For  Bonnie  Prince  Char- 
lie," Julia  Marlowe  in,  33. 

"  Foregone  Conclusions," 
May  Robson  in,  338. 

"  Forget-Me-Not," 

Coghlan,  Rose,  266, 267, 

269. 
Elliott,  Maxine,  in. 

"  Four-in-Hand,"  Elsie  De- 
Wolfe  in,  255. 

Fran9ois,  "  Richelieu,"  Mrs. 
Fiske  as,  59. 

Franko,  "  Guy  Mannering," 
Mrs.  Fiske  as,  59. 

Frawley,  T.  D.,  112,  244, 
246,  247. 

"Frederick  Lemaitre," 
Blanche  Walsh  in,  76. 


"  French     Flats,"     Sarah 

Cowell  LeMoyne  in,  42. 
Friend,  Florence,  Mary  Man- 
nering known  as,  157. 
"  Fritz,"  Mrs.  Fiske  in,  59. 
Frohman,  Charles, 

Adams,  Maude,  289. 

Anglin,  Margaret,  271. 

Conquest,  Ida,  70. 

DeWolfe,  Elsie,  252. 

Irwin,  May,  183. 

Lawrence,  Lillian,  239. 

Robson,  May,  334. 

Tyler,  Odette,  289. 

Walsh,  Blanche,  T]. 
Frohman,  Daniel, 

Conquest,  Ida,  70. 

Hamed,  Virginia,  132. 

Irving,  Isabel,  103. 

Mannering,  Mary,  156. 

Robson,  May,  334. 

Shannon,     Effie,     187, 
191. 

Shaw,  Mary,  214. 

Tyler,  Odette,  289. 
Frost,  Sarah  Frances,  Julia 

Marlowe's  name,  27. 
"  Frou-Frou," 

Fiske,  Mrs.,  60,  66. 

Nethersole,  Olga,  223. 
Fusha      Leach,     "  Moths," 

Annie  Russell  as,  90. 
Fyles,  Franklyn,  247. 

"  Gay     Parisians,"     Odette 

Tyler  in,  290. 
Galatea,     "  Pygmalion    and 

Galatea,"  Julia  Arthur  as, 

167. 
Georgie,  '*  Frou-Frou,"  Mrs. 

Fiske  as,  60. 


34^  Index  of  Famous  Actresses, 


Gertrude  Ellingham, "  Shen- 
andoah," Odette  Tyler  as, 
290. 
"  Ghosts,"   Mary    Shaw   in, 

206,  209. 
Gilbert,  Mrs.  G.  H.,  321. 
Gilberte,  "  Frou-Frou," 

Modjeska,  Helena,  179. 
Nethersole,  Olga,  223. 
"  Gilded  Fool," 

Russell,  Annie,  93. 
Walsh,  Blanche,  77. 
"Girl       I       Left       Behind 
Me," 

Lawrence,  Lillian,  242. 
Tyler,  Odette,  289. 
Walsh,  Blanche,  77. 
*'  Gladiator,"  Viola  Allen  in, 

141. 
Gladys,  "  Rajah,"  Marie  Bur- 
roughs as,  292. 
"  Gloriana,"  May  Robson  in, 

338- 

Glory  Quayle,  **  Christian," 

Viola  Allen  as,  136. 
Golden,  Richard,  183. 
"Gold    Mine,"     Blanche 

Walsh  in,  T^j. 
Goodwin,  N.  C.,  77,  79,  93, 

108,  112. 
Grace  Harkaway,  "  London 
Assurance," 

Elliott,  Maxine,  in. 
Rehan,  Ada,  116. 
Walsh,  Blanche,  '](i. 
Granger,  Maude,  117. 
"  Great     Diamond     Rob- 
bery," 

Lawrence,  Lillian,  232, 

239,  242. 
Walsh,  Blanche,  ^Z. 


"  Great  Ruby," 

Bates,     Blanche,     243, 

246,   247. 
Rehan,  Ada,  121. 
Riccardo,  Corona,  153. 
"  Guy      Mannering,"      Mrs. 

Fiske  in,  60. 
Gwendolin    Hawkins, 
"  wSchoolmistress,"    Isabel 
Irving  as,  loi. 

Hackett,  James  H.,  138. 
Hackett,  James  K.,  156. 
"  Hamlet," 

Anglin,  Margaret,  272. 

Burroughs,  Marie,  297. 

Coghlan,  Rose,  268. 

Mannering,  Mary,  158. 

Modjeska,  Helena,  312, 
321. 

Rehan,  Ada,  116. 
Hapgood,      Norman,      209, 

247. 
Hare,  John,  221,  222. 
Harned,  Virginia,  125. 
"  Harvest,"    Olga     Nether- 
sole in,  221. 
Haworth,  Joseph,  301. 
Hawtrey,  Charles,  221. 
Hayes,  Prof.  J.  J.,  274. 
"  Hazel  Kirke," 

Allen,  Viola,  145. 

Burroughs,  Marie,  293. 

Lawrence,  Lillian,  241. 

Russell,  Annie,  90. 
"  Heartease," 

Modjeska,  Helena,  318. 

Walsh,  Blanche,  79. 
"  Heart   of  Hearts,"    Marie 

Burroughs  in,  297. 
"  Heart  of  Maryland,"  Mrs. 


Index  of  Famous  Actresses. 


347 


Leslie  Carter  in,  193,  196, 

200. 
"Heart    of   Ruby,"   Maxine 

Elliott  in.  III. 
"  Hedda  Gabler,"  Elizabeth 

Robins  in,  209. 
**  Heir-at-Law,"  Viola  Allen 

in,  146. 
"Held     by     the     Enemy," 

Kathryn  Kidder  in,  301. 
Helena,  "Midsummer  Night's 

Dream,"  Ada   Rehan  as, 

120. 
Helene,  "  Catherine,"  Elsie 

DeWolfe  as,  256. 
Helen,  "Hunchback,"  Isabel 

Irving  as,  103. 
Helen      Truman,     "  Wife," 

Lillian  Lawrence  as,  233, 

240. 
Hendrix,"  Rip  Van  Winkle," 

Julia  Marlowe  as,  28. 
Henrietta,  "Two  Orphans," 

Lillian  Lawrence  as,  238. 
H  e  r  m  i  a  ,       "  Midsummer 

Night's    Dream,"  Maxine 

Elliott  as,  III. 
"  Hero  and  Leander,"  Mary 

Mannering  in,  157. 
"  Hester  Crewe,"  Mrs.  Fiske 

in,  65. 
Hilda,   "Kari   and    Hilda," 

Mrs.  Fiske  as,  61. 
Hilliard,  Robert,  298. 
Holland,  E.   *!.,  91. 
"  Home    Rule,"    May  Irwin 

in,  183. 
"Honeymoon,"    Blanche 

Walsh  in,  76. 
"Hoodman     Blind,"    Viola 

Alleu  in,  144. 


"Hoop  of  Gold,"  May  Rob- 
son  in,  326,  332. 
"  Hunchback," 

Irving,  Isabel,  103. 
Marlowe,  Julia,  30. 
Rehan,  Ada,  121. 
"Hunted     Down,"      Mrs. 
Fiske  in,  59. 


"  Idler." 

Lawrence,  Lillian,  242. 
Nethersole,  Olga,  222. 
Shannon,  Effie,  191. 
"  Idol  of  the   Hour,"  Rose 

Coghlan  in,  269. 
Imogen,   Helena   Modjeska 

as,  321. 
"Importance  of  Being  Ear- 
nest,"   May    Robson    in, 
328. 
"  Ingomar," 

Allen,  Viola,  141. 
Arthur,  Julia,  167. 
Marlowe,  Julia,  30,  31. 
"  In  Honour  Bound,"  Isabel 

Irving  in,  102. 
"  In  Mizzoura," 

Lawrence,  Lillian,  241. 
Walsh,  Blanche,  'j']. 
"  In  Old  Kentucky,"  Lillian 

Lawrence  in,  238. 
"  In  Spite  of  All," 

Bates,  Blanche,  246. 
Fiske,  Mrs.,  64. 
Tyler,  Odette,  289. 
Irving,  Isabel,  98. 
Irving,    Sir  Henry,  46, 

166. 
Irwin,  Flora,  176,  183. 
Irwin,  May,  174. 


34^  Index  of  Famotis  Actresses, 


Jeanne,  "Broken  Seal,"  Julia 

Arthur  as,  165. 
Jeanne  Marie, "  Conquerors," 

Blanche  Walsh  as,  80. 
Jeanne,     "  Miss      Multon," 

Annie  Russell  as,  86,  88. 
Jefferson,  Joseph,  145,  310, 

312. 
Jewett,  Henry,  134. 
"  Jocelyn,"     Rose    Coghlan 

in,  268. 
"  John-a-Dreams,"  Elsie  De- 
Wolfe  in,  256. 
"  John    Gabriel    Borkman," 

Maude  Banks  in,  208. 
"  John  Needham's  Double," 
Burroughs,  Marie,  297. 
Elliott,  Maxine,  no. 
Jones,    Henry    Arthur, 
295. 
"  Joseph,"    Elsie     DeWolfe 

in,  255. 
*'  Judah,"    Marie  Burroughs 

in,  297,  298. 
"  Judge,"  Elsie  DeWolfe  in, 

255- 
Julia,     "  Gladiator,"     Viola 

Allen  as,  141. 
Julia,  "  Hunchback," 

Marlowe,  Julia,  30. 

Rehan,  Ada,  121. 
Julie  de  Mortemar,  "  Riche- 
lieu," 

Anglin,  Margaret,  272. 

Modjeska,  Helena,  321. 
Juliet,  "  Romeo  and  Juliet," 

Adams,  Maude,  17. 

Allen,  Viola,  141,  143. 

Arthur,  Julia,  167,  171. 

Burroughs,   Marie,  298. 

Marlowe,  Julia,  36. 


Modjeska,  Helena,  312, 

318,  321. 
Nethersole,   Olga,    223, 

227. 
Riccardo,  Corona,  148. 
Tyler,  Odette,  285,  286. 
Juliet  Gainsborough,  "  Am- 
bassador," Fay  Davis  in, 
284. 
"  Julius      Caesar,"      Odette 

Tyler  in,  285. 
June,  "  Blue  Jeans,"  Lillian 

Lawrence  as,  233. 
"  Junior  Partner,"  May  Irwin 

in,  183. 
Justine    Emptage,   "  Benefit 
of    a   Doubt,"   Ida   Con- 
quest as,  70. 

"Karl    and     Hilda,"    Mrs. 

Fiske  in,  61. 
Kate      Hardcastle,      "  She 

Stoops  to  Conquer," 
Marlowe,  Julia,  33,  yj. 
Shaw,  Mary,  211. 
Kate,  "Idler,"    Effie   Shan- 
non as,  191. 
Kate  Kennion,  "  Girl  I  Left 

Behind  Me," 

Lawrence,  Lillian,  242. 
Walsh,  Blanche,  77. 
"Kate    Kip,    Buyer,"    May 

Irwin  in,  186. 
Kate    Malcolm,     "Sister 

Mary,"  Maxine  Elliott  as, 

III. 
Kate      Norbury,      "John 

Needham's      D  o  u  b  1  e," 

Marie       Burroughs       as, 

297. 
Katharine,  "  Taming  of  the 


i 


Index  of  Famous  Actresses,  349 


Shrew,"   Ada    Rehan   as, 

120,  122,  123. 
Keene,  Laura,  59. 
Keene,  Thomas  W.,  239. 
Kelcey,  Herbert,  187,  192. 
"King    Henry    IV.,"    Julia 

Marlowe  in,  33. 
"  King  John,"  Mrs.  Fiske  in, 

59- 
«  King  Lear," 

Allen,  Viola,  141. 
Rehan,  Ada,  116. 
Kirkland,     Bessie,     Odette 

Tyler's  name,  288. 
Kittie   Ives,   "Wife,"    Effie 
Shannon  as,  191. 

Lacke,  Charles  E.,  236. 

Lacy,  Harry,  131. 

Lady  Babbie,  "  Little  Minis- 
ter," Maude  Adams  as, 
16. 

Lady  Belton,  **  Marriage," 
Ida  Conquest  as,  71. 

"  Lady  Bountiful,"  May 
Robson  in,  338. 

Lady  Charley  Wishanger, 
"  Masqueraders,"  Elsie 
DeWolfe  as,  255. 

"Lady  Clare,"  Marie  Bur- 
roughs in,  294. 

Lady  Gay  Spanker,  "Lon- 
don Assurance,"  Rose 
Coghlan  as,  268. 

Lady  Gilding,  "  Professor's 
Love  Story,"  M  a  x  i  n  e 
Elliott  as,  no. 

"  Lady  Gladys,"  Lillian 
Lawrence  in,  238. 

"  Lady  Jemima,"  Mrs.  Fiske 
in,  64,  66. 


Lady  Jessica,  "Liars,"  Isa- 
bel Irving  as,  99. 
Lady  Kate    Ffennel,  "Bau- 
ble Shop,"  Elsie  DeWolfe 
as,  255. 
Lady  Macbeth,  Helena  Mo- 

djeska  as,  308,  321. 
Lady  Noeline,  "  Amazons," 
Irving,  Isabel,  103. 
Lawrence,  Lillian,  241. 
"Lady  of  Lyons," 

Harned,  Virginia,  133. 
Marlowe,  Julia,  30. 
Rehan,  Ada,  117. 
"  Lady    of    Quality,"    Julia 

Arthur  in,  166,  167. 
Lady   Teazle,   "  School   for 
Scandal," 

Coghlan,  Rose,  268. 
Marlowe,  Julia,  33. 
Rehan,  Ada,  120,  123. 
Lady    Ursula,    "  Adventure 
of  Lady  Ursula,"  Virginia 
Harned  as,  125,  126. 
"  Lady  Windermere's  Fan," 
Arthur,  Julia,  163,  166. 
Harned,  Virginia,  133. 
Langtry,  Mrs.  Lily,  192. 
"  L'Assommoir,"  Ada  Rehan 

in,  118. 
"  Last  Word," 

Bates,  Blanche,  245. 
Rehan,  Ada,  120. 
"  Late  Mr.  Costello,"  Mary 

Mannering  in,  157. 
"  La  Tosca," 

Nethersole,  Olga,  221. 
Walsh,  Blanche,  73,  75- 
Laurent,  Marie,  252. 
Lawrence,  Lillian,  232,  240, 
241,  242. 


350  Index  of  Famous' Actresses, 


Leah  da  Costa,  "  Woman's 

Reason,"  Elsie   De Wolfe 

as,  256. 
"  Leah,"    Marie    Burroughs 

in,  298. 
"  Lend  Me  Five  Shillings," 

Blanche  Walsh  in,  77. 
LeMoyne,  Sarah  Cowell,  39. 
LeMoyne,  W.  J.,  293. 
"  Les    Chouans,"    Helena 

Modjeska  in,  322. 
Leslie,  Elsie,  145. 
"  Lethe,"  Annie  Russell  in, 

93- 
Lettice    Vane,    "  Harvest," 

Olga  Nethersole  as,  221. 
Lettie,     "  Saints    and    Sin- 
ners," Marie  Burroughs  as, 
295. 
Letitia    Hardy,    "Belle's 
Stratagem," 

Marlowe,  Julia,  "^^^i- 

Rehan,  Ada,  121. 

"Liar,"    Rose    Coghlan    in, 

262. 
"  Liars,"   Isabel    Irving    in, 

99. 
"  Liberty  Hall," 

Allen,  Viola,  146. 
Conquest,  Ida,  71. 
Robson,  May,  338. 
"Light    from    St.    Agnes," 

Mrs.  Fiske  in,  64,  66. 
Litt,  Jacob,  166. 
Little  Em'ly, 

Lawrence,    Lillian,    in, 

241. 
Rehan,  Ada,  as,  117. 
"  Little  Lord  Fauntleroy," 
Allen,  Viola,  145. 
^Kidder,  Kathryn,  301. 


"  Little     Minister,"    Maude 

Adams  in,  16. 
Little    Schneider,   "  Our 
Fritz,"  Maude  Adams  as, 
14. 
"  London  Assurance," 
Coghlan,  Rose,  268. 
Elliott,  Maxine,  iii. 
Rehan,  Ada,  116. 
Walsh,  Blanche,  76. 
"  Long    Lane,"    Virginia 

Harned  in,  131. 
"  Lord     and     Lady    Algy," 

May  Robson  in,  324. 
"  Lord  Chumley," 

Anglin,  Margaret,  272. 
Harned,  Virginia,  132. 
Lorraine,  Henry,  275. 
"  Lost  Paradise," 

Adams,  Maude,  16. 
Lawrence,  Lillian,  240. 
Tyler,  Odette,  289. 
"  Lottery  of  Love," 

Irving,  Isabel,  102. 
Lawrence,  Lillian,  240. 
Rehan,  Ada,  119. 
Louise      Greville,     "  Tragic 
Mask,"  Helena  Modjeska 
as,  322. 
Louise,     "Gringoire," 

Blanche  Walsh  as,  79. 
Louise,     "  Two      Orphans," 

Mrs.  Fiske  as,  59. 
"  Love    Chase,"   Julia   Mar- 
lowe in,  T,-^. 
"  Love     Finds     the    Way," 

Mrs.  Fiske  in,  ^6. 
"  Love    in    Tandem,"    Ada 

Rehan  in,  119. 
"  Love's  Labour  Lost,"  Ada 
Rehan  in,  120. 


Index  of  Famous  Actresses,  3  5  I 


"  Love's  Young  Dream," 
Ada  Rehan  in,  119. 

Lucille,  "  Face  in  the  Moon- 
light," Corona  Riccardo 
as,  153. 

Lucy,  "  Professor's  Love 
Story,"  Marie  Burroughs 
as,  297. 

Lucy  Hawksmith,  "  Girl  I 
Left  Behind  Me,"  Odette 
Tyler  as,  289. 

Lydia  Languish, "  Rivals," 
Allen,  Viola,  146. 
Marlowe,  Julia,  33. 
Walsh,  Blanche,  79. 

"  Lyons  Mail,"  Rose  Cogh- 
lan  in,  268. 

"  Macbeth," 

Coghlan,  Rose,  262. 
Fiske,  Mrs.,  57. 
Modjeska,     Helena, 

309- 

MacDowell,  Melbourne, 
81. 

MacLean,  R.  D.,  288. 

Madame  Benoit,  "Bohemia," 
May  Robson  as,  338. 

Madame  de  Mauban,  "  Pris- 
oner of  Zenda,"  Fay  Davis 
as,  276,  282. 

"Madame  Sans  -  Gene," 
Kathryn    Kidder  in,  299, 

303- 
Madeline,     "  Frederic     Le- 

maitre,"   Blanche    Walsh 

as,  76. 
Madison    Square     Theatre, 

89,  90,  139,  163,  238,  289, 

292,  294,  301,  333. 
Maffit,  James  S.,  188. 


"  Magda," 

Fiske,  Mrs.,  66. 
Modjeska,  Helena,  322. 

Maggie,  "  Engaged,"  Annie 
Russell  as,  90. 

"  Maister  of  Woodbarrow," 
Virginia  Harned  in,  132. 

"  Man  in  Love,"  Elsie  De- 
Wolfe  in,  256. 

Mannering,  Mary,  156. 

Mansfield,  Richard,  270,  272, 

293- 

Mantell,  R.  B.,  147, 152,  191, 
294. 

Margaret  Neville,  "  Heart- 
ease,"  Blanche  Walsh  as, 

79- 

Marguerite,  "  Secret  War- 
rant," Corona  Riccardo 
as,  153. 

Marguerite  Gauthier,  *'  Ca- 
mille," 

Modjeska,  Helena,  308. 
Nethersole,    Olga,  223, 
226. 

Marie  Deloche,  "  Queen  of 
Liars,"  Mrs.  Fiske  as,  65. 

Marie  de  Veneuil,  "  Les 
Chouans,"  Helena  Mo- 
djeska as,  322. 

Marie  Louise,  "  Josephine," 
Lillian  Lawrence  as,  238. 

Marion,  "  Tess  of  the  D'Ur- 
bervilles,"  Mary  Shaw  as, 
216. 

"Marjory's  Lovers,"  Marie 
Burroughs  in,  297. 

Marlowe,  Julia,  27,  215. 

"  Marriage," 

Conquest,  Ida,  71. 
DeWolfe,  Elsie,  256. 


352  Index  of  Famous  Actresses, 


Mary  Blenkern,  *'  Middle- 
man," Marie  Burroughs 
as,  297. 
Mary  Morgan,  "  Ten  Nights 
in  a  Barroom,"  Mrs.  Fiske 
as,  60. 
Mary     Standish,     "  Pique," 

Ada  Rehan  as,  117. 
"  Mary  Stuart," 

Modjeska,  Helena,  318, 

321. 
Rehan,  Ada,  117. 
Shaw,  Mary,  214. 
Maryland    Calvert,    "  Heart 
of  Maryland,"  Mrs.  Leslie 
Carter    as,     193,    196, 
200. 
"Masked     Ball,"     Maude 

Adams  in,  16. 
"  Masqueraders," 

Allen,  Viola,  146. 
Davis,  Fay,  277. 
De Wolfe,  Elsie,  256. 
Mathews,  Charles,  262. 
"  Mayflower,"  Mary  Manner- 

ingin,  159. 
Mayo,  Frank,  301. 
McCuUough,  John,  59,  116, 

140,  188. 
McNally,  John  J.,  183. 
McWade,  Robert,  27. 
"  Measure  for  Measure," 
Modj  eska,     Helena, 

321. 
Shaw,  Mary,  214. 
"Meddler,"  Marie  Burroughs 

in,  298. 
Meg,    "Lord   Chumley," 
Margaret     A  n  g  1  i  n     as, 
272. 
Melville,  Emily,  237. 


"  Men  and  Women," 

Lawrence,    Lillian,  239, 

240. 
Tyler,  Odette,  289. 
"  Mercedes,"  Julia  Arthur  in, 

163,  166,  167. 
'*  Merchant  of  Venice," 

Modj  eska,      Helena, 

321. 
Tyler,  Odette,  285. 
"  Middleman," 

Burroughs,  Marie,  297. 
Elliott,  Maxine,  no. 
"  Midnight     Bell,"      Maude 

Adams  in,  16. 
"  Midsummer   M  a  d  n  e  s  s," 

Mary  Shaw  in,  212. 
"Midsummer  Night 's 
Dream," 

Elliott,  Maxine,  in. 
Irving,  Isabel,  103. 
Rehan,  Ada,  120. 
Miladi,    "Musketeer  s," 

Blanche  Bates  as,  243. 
Miles,  Colonel,  27. 
Miller,  Henry,  183. 
Millward,  Jessie,  294. 
Miss   Ashford,   "Private 
Secretary,"    May  Robson 
as,  338. 
"  Miss  Helyett,"  Mrs.    Les- 
lie Carter  in,  193,  196. 
Miss  Prim,  "  Importance  of 
Being  Earnest,"  May  Rob- 
son  as,  328. 
"  Miss  Multon,"  Annie  Rus- 
sell in,  90. 
Miss    Violet,    "  Pantomime 
Rehearsal,"  Isabel  Irving 
as,  loi. 
Modjeska,  Helena,  214,  306. 


Index  of  Famous  Actresses,  353 


"  Monbars,"    Corona    R  i  c- 

cardo  in,  147,  153. 
Monica,    "  Tree    of    Knowl- 
edge," Fay  Davis  as,  277. 
"  Monte    Cristo,"    Margaret 

Anglin  in,  272. 
"  Monsieur  Alphonse,"  Mrs. 

Fiske  in,  60. 
"  Mort  Civile,"  Viola  Allen 

in,  141. 
Moscheles,  Felix,  274,  275. 
*'  Moth  and  the  Flame," 

LeMoyne,  Sarah   Cow- 
ell,  43»  47- 
Shannon,      Effie,     187, 
192. 
"  Moths," 

Coghlan,  Rose,  268. 
Nethersole,  Olga,  222. 
Russell,  Annie,  90. 
Mrs.   Allenby,   "  Woman  of 
No  Importance,"  Maxine 
Elliott  as.  III. 
Mrs.  Alving,"  Ghosts,"  Mary 

Shaw  as,  206,  209. 
Mrs.   Bulford,   "Great  Dia- 
mond Robbery," 

Lawrence,  Lillian,   232, 

239,  242. 
Walsh,  Blanche,  78. 
"  Mrs.  Dascott,"  Lillian  Law- 
rence in,  238. 
Mrs.  Erlynne,    "  Lady  Win- 
dermere's Fan,"   Virginia 
Harned  as,  133. 
Mrs.    Errol,    "Little    Lord 
Fauntleroy," 

Allen,  Viola,  145. 
Kidder,  Kathryn,  301. 
Mrs.  Glib,  "Christopher,  Jr.," 
Elsie  De Wolfe  as,  256. 


Mrs.  Hillary,  "  Senator," 
Blanche  Bates  as,  245. 

Mrs.  Lorimer,  "  Moth  and 
the  Flame,"  Sarah  Cowell 
LeMoyne  as,  43,  47. 

Mrs.  Wanklyn,  "  John-a- 
Dreams,"  Elsie  De  Wolfe 
as,  256. 

"  Much  Ado  about  Noth- 
ing," 

Marlowe,  Julia,  32. 
Modjeska,  Helena,  321. 
Rehan,  Ada,  117. 

Miille,  Ida,  190. 

"  Musketeers," 

Anglin,  Margaret,  272. 
Bates,  Blanche,  243. 

"  My  Awful  Dad,"  Blanche 
Walsh  in,  78. 

"  My  Uncle's  Will,"  Blanche 
Walsh  in,  76. 

"  My  Wife's  M  o  t  h  e  r," 
Blanche  Walsh  in,  78. 

"  Mysterious  Mr.  Bugle," 
Margaret  Anglin  in,  272. 

''Nadjezda,"  Helena  Mo- 
djeska in,  322. 

"  Nancy  &  Co.," 

Bates,  Blanche,  245. 
Irving,  Isabel,  103. 
Rehan,  Ada,  120,  122. 

"  Nathan  Hale,"  Maxine 
Elliott  in,  108. 

Neill,  James,  245. 

Neilson,  Adelaide,  116,  170, 
262. 

Neilson,  Julia,  283. 

Nellie  Beers,  "  Love's  Young 
Dream,"  Ada  Rehan  as, 
119. 


354  Index  of  Famous  Actresses. 


Nellie,    "  Lost  Paradise," 

Maude  Adams  as,  i6. 
Neodamia,  "Gladiato r," 

Viola  Allen  as,  141. 
Nethersole,  Olga,  192,  217. 
*'  New  Lamps  for  Old,"  Ada 

Rehan  in,  120. 
"  New  Woman," 

Hamed,  Virginia,  133. 
Russell,  Annie,  93. 
"Nicholas  Nickleby,"  Rose 

Coghlan  in,  262. 
"  Night  Off," 

Harned,  Virginia,  131. 
Irving,  Isabel,  103. 
Rehan,  Ada,  120,  121. 
"Night's   Frolic,"  Mary 

Shaw  in,  216. 
"  Night's    S  e  s  s  i  o  n,"    May 

Robson  in,  338. 
Niobe,  "  Night  Off,"  Virginia 

Harned  in,  131. 
Nora,  "  Doll's  House," 
Fiske,  Mrs.,  65. 
Modjeska,     Helena, 
322. 
"  Norbeck,"  Kathryn  Kidder 

in,  301. 
Nordica,  Lillian,  275. 
"  Nominee,"  Blanche  Walsh 

in,  77. 
"  Notorious  Mrs.  Ebbsmith," 
Olga  Nethersole  in,  223. 

Oberon,  "Midsummer 
Night's  Dream,"  Isabel 
Irving  as,  103. 

"Octoroon,"  Mrs.  Fiske  in, 

59- 
"Old     Jed     Prouty,"    May 
Irwin  in,  183. 


"Old  Love  and  the  New," 
Helena     Modj  eska    in, 

OHvia,  "  Twelfth  Night," 

Elliott,  Maxine,  iii. 

Rehan,  Ada,  117. 

Walsh,  Blanche,  76. 
O'Neill,    James,     243,    247, 

272. 
Ophelia,  "  Hamlet," 

Anglin,  Margaret,  272. 

Burroughs,  Marie,  297. 

Modjeska,  Helena,  312, 
321. 

Rehan,  Ada,  116. 

Riccardo,  Corona,  153. 
"  Orient  Express," 

Elliott,  Maxine,  in. 

Irving,  Isabel,  103. 
"Othello," 

Allen,  Viola,  141,  142. 

Rehan,  Ada,  116. 

Riccardo,   Corona,  149, 

153- 
Tyler,  Odette,  285,  286. 
Walsh,  Blanche,  76. 
"  Our      Boarding      House," 

Virginia  Harned  in,  131. 
"  Our  Fritz,"  Maude  Adams 

in,  14. 
"  Our  Society,"  Annie  Rus- 
sell in,  90. 

Palmer,  A.  M., 

Arthur,  Julia,  163,  165. 
Burroughs,  Marie,  294. 
Conquest,  Ida,  70. 
Elliott,  Maxine,  1 10. 
Harned,  Virginia,  133. 
LeMoyne,      Sarah 
Cowell,  42,  44. 


Index  of  Famous  Actresses. 


355 


"  Pantomime  Reh  e  a  r  s  a  1," 
Isabel  Irving  in,  loi. 

"Partner s,"  Marie  Bur- 
roughs in,  297. 

Parthenia,  "  Ingomar," 
Allen,  Viola,  141. 
Arthur,  Julia,  167. 
Marlowe,  Julia,  30,  31. 

Pastor,  Tony,  176. 

Paul,  "Octoroo n,"  Mrs. 
Fiske  as,  59. 

Paula,  "Second  Mrs.  Tan- 
queray,"  Olga  Nethersole 
as,  217. 

Pauline  March,  "  Called 
Back,"  Marie  Burroughs 
as,  294. 

Peggy,  "  Country  Girl," 
Ada    Reh  an    as,    120, 

123- 
Peg  Woffington,  Rose  Cogh- 

lan  as,  267,  268. 
Perkins,  "  Double  Lesson," 

Isabel  Irving  as,  loi. 
Phyllis    Lee,    "Charity 
Ball," 

Bates,  Blanche,  246. 
Conquest,  Ida,  70. 
"  Pinafore," 

Marlowe,  Julia,  17. 

Russell,  Annie,  88. 

Shannon,  Effie,  189. 

"  Pink  Dominoes,"  Blanche 

Walsh  in,  77. 
«  Pique," 

Lawrence,  Lillian,  241. 
Rehan,  Ada,  117. 
Shaw,  Mary,  213. 
Pitou,  Augustus,  300. 
Player    Queen,    "  Hamlet," 
Rose  Coghlan  as,  268. 


"  Poet  and  the  Puppets," 
Irwin,  May,  184. 
Robson,  May,  334. 
Polly,     "Lost     Paradise," 

Odette  Tyler  as,  289. 
Portia,      "  Julius      Caesar," 

Odette  Tyler  as,  285. 
Portia,  "  Merchant  of  Ven- 
ice," 

Modjeska,  Helena,  321. 

Tyler,  Odette,  285,  286. 

Potter,  Mrs.  James  Brown, 

157- 
Poulette,  "Conquerors," 

May   Robson  as,  324. 
Powers,  Leland,  274. 
Presbrey,  E.  W.,  90. 
Prince  Arthur,  "  King  John," 

Mrs.  Fiske  as,  59. 
Prince   Hal,   "King   Henry 

IV.,"   Julia    Marlowe   as, 

33- 

"  Prince  Zillah,"  Helena 
Modjeska  in,  322. 

"Princess  and  the  Butter- 
fly," 

Davis,  Fay,  277,  279. 
Mannering,  Mary,  159. 

Princess  Beatrice,  "  Terma- 
gant," Olga  Nethersole 
as,  231. 

Princess  of  France,  "  Love's 
Labour  Lost,"  Ada  Rehan 
as,  120. 

"  Princess  Olga,"  Rose 
Coghlan  in,  268. 

"  Princess  Walanoff,"  Rose 
Coghlan  in,  269. 

"  Prisoner  of  Zenda," 

Davis,  Fay,  277,  282. 
Lawrence,  Lillian,  242. 


3  5  6  Index  of  Famous  Actresses, 


"  Prodigal  Daughter," 

Elliott,  Maxine,  no. 

Lawrence,  Lillian,  242. 
*'  Professor's  Love  Story," 

Burroughs,  Marie,  297. 

Elliott,  Maxine,  no. 
"  Profligate," 

Burroughs,  Marie,  298. 

Nethersole,  Olga,  223. 
"  Puritan  Maid,"  Mrs.  Fiske 

in,  64. 
"  Pygmalion   and   Galatea," 
Julia  Arthur  in,  167. 

Queen    Anne,     "  Richard 

III.,"  Ada  Rehan  as,  116. 
Queen      Elizabeth,    "Amy 

Robsart,"  Blanche  Walsh 

as,  76. 
Queen     Elizabeth,     "  Mary 

Stuart," 

Rehan,  Ada,  117. 
Shaw,  Mary,  214. 
Queen  Guinevere,  "  Elaine," 

Marie  Burroughs  as,  294. 
Queen,     "  Hamlet,"      Mary 

Mannering  as,  158. 
"  Queen    of     Liars,"     Mrs. 

Fiske  in,  65. 

"  Railroad  of  Love," 

Bates,  Blanche,  245. 

Irving,  Isabel,  103. 

Rehan,  Ada,  119. 
"Rajah,"  Marie   Burroughs 

in,  292. 
Rehan,  Ada,  102,  113. 
Re  jane,  Madame,  300,  303. 
Renee  de  Cochefort,  "  Un- 
der the  Red  Robe," 

Allen,  Viola,  71. 

Conquest,  Ida,  71. 


Rhea,  Hortense,  238. 
Riccardo,  Corona,  147. 
''  Richard  III.," 

Fiske,  Mrs.,  56. 

Rehan,  Ada,  1 16. 
*'  Richelieu," 

Anglin,  Margaret,  272. 

Fiske,  Mrs.,  59. 

Modjeska,     Helena, 
321. 
'*  Right  to  Happiness,"  Mrs. 

Fiske  in,  66. 
Rigl,  Emily,  117. 
"  Rip  Van  Winkle," 

Fiske,  Mrs.,  60. 

Marlowe,  Julia,  28. 
"  Rivals," 

Allen,  Viola,  146. 

Marlowe,  Julia,  33. 

Walsh,  Blanche,  79. 
Roberts,  Genevieve,  262. 
Robins,  Elizabeth,  209. 
"  Robisonade,"  Mary   Shaw 

in,  211. 
Robison,   Mary,    May    Rob- 
son's  name,  329. 
Robson,  May,  323. 
Robson,  Stuart,  298. 
"  Rogues  and   Vagabonds," 

Julia  Marlowe  in,  33. 
"  Rohan,   the    Silent,"    Ida 

Conquest  in,  69. 
Rolfe,  Dr.  William  J.,  228. 
"  Romeo  and  Juliet," 

Adams,  Maude,  17. 

Allen,  Viola,  141,  143. 

Arthur,  Julia,  167,  171. 

Burroughs,  Marie,  298. 

Marlowe,  Julia,  28,  36. 

Modjeska,  Helena,  312, 
318,  321. 


Index  of  Famous  Actresses. 


357 


Nethersole,    Olga,  223, 

227. 
Riccardo,  Corona,  148. 
Tyler,  Odette,  285,  286. 
"  Romeo's      First       Love," 

Blanche  Walsh  in,  78. 
"  Romola,"  Julia  Marlowe  in, 

33- 
Rosalind,    "As    You    Like 
It," 

Anglin,  Margaret,  272. 
Arthur,  Julia,  167,  170. 
Coghlan,  Rose,  267,  268. 
Davis,  Fay,  277. 
Kidder,  Kathryn,  305. 
Marlowe,  Julia,  35. 
Modjeska,  Helena,  321. 
Rehan,  Ada,  120,  122. 
Shaw,  Mary,  215. 
Rosamond,  "  Becket,"  Julia 

Arthur  as,  166. 
Rose  Dalrymple,  "  In  Hon- 
our Bound,"  Isabel  Irving 
as,  102. 
Rose  Reade,  "  Sister  Mary," 

Elsie  DeWolfe  as,  255. 
RoseTrelawney,"  Trelawney 
of  the  Wells,"  Mary  Man- 
nering  as,  158,  159. 
"  Rosedale," 

Lawrence,  Lillian,  241. 
Rehan,  Ada,  117. 
"  Rosemary,"  Maude  Adams 

in,  16. 
"  Royal      Middy,"      Lillian 
.    Lawrence  in,  237. 
Roxane,   *'  Cyrano   de    Ber- 
gerac," 

Anglin,  Margaret,  270. 
Lawrence,  Lillian,  243. 
Rehan,  Ada,  121. 


"Rural   Stroll,"  May  Irwin 

in,  178. 
Russell,  Annie,   82,    139, 

295. 
Russell,  Hattie,  115. 
Russell,  Sol  Smith,  80. 
Ruth,    *'  Ambition,"    Annie 

Russell  as,  93. 

"  Saints  and  Sinners," 

Burroughs,  Marie,  295. 
Harned,  Virginia,  133. 

Salvini,   Alexander,   69,    90, 
141,  295. 

Salvini,  Tomasa,  141. 

Sardou,  Victorien,   73,  252, 

253»2S4. 
"  School,"  Lillian  Lawrence 

in,  241. 
"  School  for  Scandal," 
Coghlan,  Rose,  268. 
Marlowe,  Julia,  '}^y 
Rehan,  Ada,  120,  123. 
"  School    Mistress,"    Isabel 

Irving  in,  10 1. 
Scott,  Clement,  152. 
"  Scrap  of  Paper," 

Coghlan,  Rose,  268. 
Lawrence,  Lillian,  241. 
"  Sealed   Instructions,"   An- 
nie Russell  in,  90. 
"  Second   Mrs.   Tanqueray," 
Olga  Nethersole  in,   217, 
223. 
"  Secret  Service," 

Tyler,  Odette,  285,  286, 

290. 
Walsh,  Blanche,  80. 
"  Secret    Warrant,"   Corona 

Riccardo  in,  153. 
Seligman,  Minnie,  90,  238. 


358 


Index  of  Famous  Actresses. 


"  Senator,"   Blanche   Walsh 

in,  245. 
"  Seven-Twenty-Eight," 
Bates,  Blanche,  245. 
Rehan,  Ada,  120,  121. 
Shannon,  Effie,  187. 
Shaw,  Mary,  206. 
"  She  Stoops  to   Conquer," 
Marlowe,  Julia,  33,  37. 
Shaw,  Mary,  211. 
"  Sheep  in  Wolf's  Clothing," 

Mrs.  Fiske  in,  60. 
"  Shenandoah," 

Allen,  Viola,  145. 
Anglin,  Margaret,  271. 
Lawrence,  Lillian,  241. 
Tyler,  Odette,  290. 
"  Shilling's      Worth "      (see 

"  Colonial  Girl "). 
"  Shining  Light,"  May  Rob- 
son  in,  335. 
"Siberia,"    Blanche    Walsh 

in,  76. 
"Sieba,"    Odette   Tyler  in, 

288. 
"  Sign  of  the  Cross,"  Corona 

Riccardo  in,  151. 
"  Silent  Battle,"  Olga  Neth- 

ersole  in,  217,  223. 
"  Silver  King," 

Coghlan,  Rose,  268. 
Shannon,  Effie,  191. 
Silvia,  "  Two  Gentlemen  of 
Verona,"    Maxine   ElHott 
as.  III. 
Sister      Genevieve,     "  Two 
Orphans,"     Lillian     Law- 
rence as,  238. 
"  Sister  Mary," 

De Wolfe,  Elsie,  255. 
Elliott,  Maxine,  iii. 


Sothern,  E.  A.,  262. 
Sothern,  E.  H.,  15,  126,  132, 

133,  211,  212,  272. 
"  Sowing  the  Wind,"  Viola 

Allen  in,  146. 
"  Sphinx,"  Mav  Robson  in, 

328. 
"  Squire    of    Dames,"    Fay 

Davis  in,  276,  279. 
"Squirrel    Inn,"   May   Rob- 
son  in,  338. 
Stephanie,     "Forge  t-M  e- 

Not,"  Rose   Coghlan   as, 

266,  267. 
Stetson,  John,  188. 
"  Still  Alarm," 

Arthur,  Julia,  165. 
Hamed,  Virginia,  131. 
Stockwell,  L.  R.,  244. 
Stoddart,  J.  H.,  296. 
"Storm  Child,"  Mrs.  Fiske 

in,  63. 
"  Straight  from  the  Heart," 

Blanche  Walsh  in,  80. 
"  Sue,"  Annie  Russell  in,  94. 
Suzanne,     "  Masked    Ball," 

Maude  Adams  as,  16. 
"  Sweet  Lavender,"  Blanche 

Walsh  in,  246. 
''  Swell  Miss  Fitzwell,"  May  ' 

Irwin  in,  186. 
Sybil,    "  Sheep    in     Wolf's 

Clothing,"  Mrs.  Fiske  as, 

60. 
Sylvia    Spencer,   "Our   So- 
ciety," Annie   Russell  as., 

90. 

"  Taming  of  the  Shrew," 
Ada  Rehan  in,  116,  120, 
122,  123. 


Index  of  Famous  Actresses. 


359 


"  Ten  Nights  in  a  Barroom," 

Mrs.  Fiske  in,  60. 
"  Termagant,"  Olga  Nether- 
sole  in,  222,  223,  224. 
"  Tess  of  the  D'Urbervilles," 
Fiske,  Mrs.,  66. 
Shaw,  Mary,  216. 
"  Thermidor,"       Elsie     De- 
Wolfe  in,  253. 
"This   Picture   and    That," 

Blanche  Bates  in,  244. 
Thompson,  Lydia,  262. 
"Thoroughbred,"    Ada  Re- 

han  in,  115. 
Thorpe,  Courtney,  208. 
Tilly,  "  Hoop  of  Gold,"  May 

Robson  as,  326,  334. 
Tilly        Price,       "  Nicholas 

Nickleby,"  Rose  Coghlan 

as,  262. 
"Too  Much  Johnson,"  Ida 

Conquest  in,  71. 
Toole,  John  L.,  261. 
"  Tragedy  Rehearsal," 
Elliott,  Maxine,  in. 
Rehan,  Ada,  119. 
"  Tragic     Mask,"      Helena 

Modjeska  in,  322. 
"  Transgressor,"  Olga  Neth- 

ersole  in,  223,  229. 
Tree,  Beerbohm,  93. 
"Tree  of  Knowledge,"  Fay 

Davis  in,  277. 
"  Trelawney  of  the  Wells," 

Mary  Mannering  in,   158, 

159. 
"  Trilby," 

Hamed,     Virginia,    79, 

125,  126,  133. 
Lawrence,  Lillian,  241. 
Walsh,  Blanche,  78. 


Turner,  Carrie,  239. 
"Twelfth  Night," 

Coghlan,  Rose,  265. 

Elliott,  Maxine,  112. 

Marlowe,  Julia,  32. 

Modjeska,      Helena, 
321. 

Rehan,  Ada,   117,    121, 
123. 

Walsh,  Blanche,  76. 
"Two    Gentlemen    of     Ve- 
rona," 

Elliott,  Maxine,  in. 

Shaw,  Mary,  24. 
"  Two  Orphans," 

Fiske,  Mrs.,  59. 

Lawrence,  Lillian,  238. 
Tyler,  Odette,  285. 

"  Ugly  Duckling,"  Mrs.  Les- 
Ue  Carter  in,  193,  195. 

"  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin," 
Fiske,  Mrs.,  60. 
Shannon,  Effie,  188. 

"  Under  the  Red  Robe,"  Ida 
Conquest  in,  71. 

"  Union  Jack,"  Olga  Nether- 
sole  in,  221. 

Union  Square  Theatre,  42, 
165. 

Ursula,  "Much  Ado,"  Ada 
Rehan  as,  117. 

Vashti,  "  Judah,"  Marie 
Burroughs  as,  297,  298. 

Veneranda,  "  Foregone  Con- 
clusions," May  Robson  as, 

338- 

Vezin,  Herman,  157,  252. 
"  Village  Priest,"  Olga  Neth- 
ersole  in,  222. 


360  Index  of  Famous  Actresses. 


Viola,  "  Twelfth  Night," 
Coghlan,  Rose,  265. 
Marlowe,  Julia,  35. 
Modjeska,  Helena,  321. 
Rehan,  Ada,  121,  123. 
Violet    Woodman,    "  Prodi- 
gal    Daughter,"     Maxine 
Elliott  as,  no. 
Virginia   Fleetwood,  "  John 
Needham's  Double,"  Max- 
ine Elliott  as,  no. 

Virginia,  "  Virginius," 
Allen,  Viola,  142. 
Anglin,  Margaret,  272. 
Rehan,  Ada,  116. 

Vokes,  Rosina,  10 1,  102. 

"Voyage  de  Suzette,"  Max- 
ine Elliott  in,  no. 

Wainwright,  Marie,  76. 

Wallack,    Lester,    258,  266, 

293- 
Walsh,  Blanche,  72. 
Wanda,   "  Norbeck,"  Kath- 

ryn  Kidder  as,  301. 
Ward,  Genevieve,  266,  279. 
"  Wealth,"  Marie  Burroughs 

in,  297. 
Western,  Lucille,  61. 
Whiff  en,    Mrs.    Thomas    J., 

293- 
"White   Pink,"  Mrs.   Fiske 

in,  65. 
"  Widow  Jones,"  May  Irwin 

in,  184. 
"  Widow's    Device,"    Isabel 

Irving  in,  102. 
"  Wife," 

Bates,  Blanche,  246. 
Lawrence,  Lillian,   233, 
240. 


187, 


Shannon,     Effie, 
191. 
"Wife     of     Scarli,"     Olga 

Nethersole  in,  223. 
Willard,  E.  S.,  110,295,  297. 
Williams,  Fritz,  187,  190. 
Willie      Lee,      "Hunted 

Down,"  Mrs.  Fiske  as,  59. 
Winter,  William,  18,  224. 
"  Woman  in  White,"  Rose 

Coghlan  in,  262. 
"  Woman     of     No    Impor- 
tance," 

Coghlan,  Rose,  269. 

Elliott,  Maxine,  in. 

"  Woman's    Reason,"   Elsie 

De  Wolfe  in,  256. 
"  Woman's  Silence,"  Isabel 

Irving  in,  103. 
"  World,"  Rose  Coghlan  in, 

268. 
Wyndham,     Charles,     248, 

273,  275,  280. 

"  Young  Mrs.  Winthrop,'* 
Lawrence,  Lillian,  241. 
Shaw,  Mary,  214. 
Yvonne,  "Conqueror s," 
Viola  Allen  as,  146. 

Zamora,  "Honeymoo n," 

Blanche  Walsh  as,  76. 
"Zaza,"  Mrs.  Leslie  Carter 

in,  193,  201. 
Zicka,  "  Diplomacy," 

Burroughs,  Marie,  294. 
Coghlan,  Rose,  268. 
Lawrence,  Lillian,  241. 
Nethersole,  Olga,  222. 
Zoe  Nuggetson,  "  Squire  of 
Dames,"    Fay   Davis    as, 
276,  279,  280. 


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